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SUCCESS WITH SMALL FRUITS. 




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DODD, MEAD & COMPANY 

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Press of Francis Hart & Co. 

New-York. 






Copyright, 1880, hy 
DoDD. Mead & Company. 



Q'i'z\en<i ana }Q)oziicm\uz\5\j 

oj'zom wl^om o) sball es)ieem it a pii^ilea^ 

Xo fearii m cowma ueazd as> 

q) bai?0 viv me loa&t. 



PREFA CE. 



A BOOK should be Judged sonieivhat in viezv of what it attempts. 
^^^^ One of the chief objects of this little volume is to lure men and women 
back to their original calling, that of gar dealing. I am decidedly binder 
the impression that Eve helped Adam, especially as the sun declined. I am 
sure that they had small fruits for breakfast, dinner and supper, and 
ivould 7iot be at all surprised if they ate some between meals. Even zve 
poor mortals who have sinned more than once, a7id must give our minds 
to the effort not to appear ujinat^iral i?i many hideous styles of dress, can 
fare as ivell. The Adams and Eves of every generation can have an 
Eden if they wish. Indeed, I know of many instances in which Eve 
creates a beautiful and fruitful garden zvithout any help from Adam. 

The theologiajis shozv that we have inherited 7nuch evil from our first 
parents, but, iJt the general disposition to have a garden, can zve ?iot recog- 
nise a redeeming ancestral trait? I would like to contribute my little 
share toward increasing this tendency, believing that as humanity goes 
back to its first occupation it may also acquire some of the primal 
gardener s characteristics before he listened to temptatioji and ceased to be 
even a gentleman. When he brutally blamed the woman, it zvas time he 
zvas turfied out of Eden. All the best things of the garden suggest refine- 
ment and courtesy. Nature might have contented herself with producing 
seeds 07ily, but she accompanies the prosaic action with fragrant Jlozvers 
ajid delicious fruit. It zvould be zuell to rejnember this in the ordinary 
courtesies of life. 

Moreover, since the fruit-garden and f ami do not develop in a straight- 
forward, matter-of-fact way, zuhy should I zvrite about them after the 
formal and terse fashion of a manual or scientific treatise f The most 
productive varieties of fruit blossom and have some foliage which may not 
be very beautiful any more than the departiircs from practical prose in this 
book are interesting ; but, as a leafless plant or bush, laden zvith fruit, zvould 



8 Preface. 

appear gaunt and naked, so, to the ivriter, a book about them without any 
attempt at foliage and flowers zvould seem unnatural. The modern 
chronicler has transformed history into a fascinating story. Even science 
is nozu taught througJi the charms of fiction. Shall this department of 
kuozuledge, so generally Jiseful, be left only to technical prose? Why 
should zve fiot have a class of books as practical as the gardens, fields, and 
crops, concerning which they are zvritten, and at the same time having 
much of the light, shade, color and life of the out-of-door world. I merely 
claim that I have made an attempt in the right direction, but, like an 
tinskillful artist, may have so conftised my lights, shades, and mixed my 
colors so badly that my pictures resemble a strawberry-bed in zuhich the 
zOeeds have the better of the fruit. 

Liberal outlines of this zuork, zvith its illustrations, appeared in Scrib- 
ner's Magazine, but the larger scope afforded by the book has enabled me to 
treat many subjects for zvhich there zvas no space in the- magazine, and 
also to give my views more fully concerning topics only touched upon in the 
serial. As the fruits described are being improved, so in the future other 
ajid more skillful horticulturists ivill develop the literature relating to them 
ijito its true proportions. 

I am well aware that the superb illusti^ations give to this volume, in 
the estimation of many, its chief value, and for them I am indebted to 
the liberal views of Messrs. Scribner & Company, and to Messrs. Dodd, 
Mead &" Company, my publishers. 

The task of gathering my material zvas a labor of love, often made 
doubly deliglitful by the companionship of the gentleman having charge of 
the art department of Scribner s Magazine, Mr. A. W. Drake, and to his 
good taste the reader is largely indebted for the beauty of the engravings. 

I shall, moreover, alzvays cherish a grateful memory of the aid received 
from my brother, the Rev. A. C. Roe, and from Mr. W. H. Gibson, zuhose 
intimate knowledge of nature enabled him to give so correctly the character- 
istics of the fruits he portrayed. 

I am greatly indebted to the instruction received at various times from 
those venerable fathers and authorities on all qttestions relating to Eden- like 
pursuits — Mr. CJias. Downing of Newburgh, ajid Hon. Marshall P. 
Wilder of Boston, Mr. J. J. Thomas, Dr. Geo. Thurber ; to stich valuable 
works as those of A. S. Fuller, A. J. Dozvning, P. Barry, J. M. Merrick^ 
Jr., and some English authors ; to the live horticultural jourjtals in the 
East, West and South, and, last but not least, to many plain, practical 
fricit-grozuers, zvho are as well informed and sensible as they are modest 
in expressing their opinions. 



CONTENTS. 



CJuipter. 

I. Preliminary Parley 

II. The Fruit Garden 

III. Small Fruit Farming and its Profits 

IV. Strawberries — The Five Species and their History . 

V. Ideal Strawberries versus those of the Field and Market 

VI. Choice of Soil and Location 

VII. Preparing and Enriching the Soil 

VIII. Preparation of Soil by Drainage 

IX. The Preparation of Soils Comparatively Unfavorable 

X. Commercial and Special Fertilizers 

XI. Obtaining Plants and Improving our Stock 

XII. When Shall we Plant? 

XIII. What Shall we Plant ? 

XIV. Setting out Plants 

XV. Cultivation 

XVI. A Southern Strawberry Farm, and Methods of Culture 

XVII. Forcing Strawberries under Glass 

XVIII. Originating New Varieties — Hybridization 

XIX. Raspberries — Species, History, Propagation, etc. 

XX. Raspberries — Pruning — Staking — Mulching — Protection, etc. 

XXI. Raspberries — Varieties of the Foreign and Native Species . 

XXII. RUBUS OCCIDENTALIS BlACK-CAP AND PURPLE CaNE RASPBERRIES 

XXIII. The Raspberries of the Future 

XXIV. Blackberries — Varieties, Cultivation, etc 

XXV. Currants — Choice of Soil, Cultivation, Pruning, etc. 

XXVI. Currants, continued — Propagation, Varieties .... 

XXVII. Gooseberries 

XXVIII. Diseases and Insect Enemies of Small Fruits .... 

XXIX. Picking and Marketing 

XXX. Irrigation 

XXXI. Suggestive Experiences from widely separated Localities . 

XXXII. A FEW Rules and Maxims 

XXXIII. Varieties of Strawberries 

XXXIV. Varieties of other Small Fruits 

XXXV. Closing Words 



Page. 

13 
18 
26 

44 
48 

51 
60 

71 

77 



93 

105 
109 

121 

146 

150 
158 
167 

173 
186 

191 
199 
209 

217 
226 
232 
247 

255 
261 
272 
279 
300 
304 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Title. A rtist. Engraver. 

'• Ye boys that Gather," etc /iodt. Blum |. F. Jungling. 

The Home She Might Have Had Ahs. Mary H..F00U Photo-Eng. Co. 

Seeds and Pulp, etc W. 11. Gibson " " " 

The Alpine Strawberry " " W. J. Wilson. 

Hautbois or Haarbeer Strawberry. ... " '■ W. y. Dana. 

Indian Strawberry " " " " 

Common Wild Strawberry " " E. Clement. 

Fragaria Chilensis " " W. J. Wilson. 

New York Flower and Fruit 'is\\^<A\o\i .Miss Jessie Curtis G. Kruell. 

Strawberry of Memory Mrs. Mary H. Foote Miss C. A. Powell. 

Scene of Operations W. H. Gibson Robt. Varley. 

The Champion Grubber A. Kappes Fred Juengling. 

Map showing Experiments Chas. Caldwell R. D. Servoss. 

JucuNDA Strawberry R. Rio7'dan F. S. King. 

Tools for Strawberry Farm H. W. Ttvy Photo-Eng. Co. 

Counting and Mailing Plants A. Kappes James Tynan. 

Potting Runners W. H. Gibson S. S. Kilburn. 

A Potted Plant " " 

Strawberry Blossoms " " Felix Le Blanc. 

Sharpless and Wild Strawberries " " E. H. Windham. 

Crescent Seedling " " Felix Le Blanc. 

A Cluster of Pioneer Strawberries. . . " " H. E. Schultz. 

Kentucky Seedling, etc " " E. A. Winham. 

Watering Plants " " F. S. King. 

Wrong Methods, etc., a " " . .Photo-Eng. Co. 

" " " B " " '■ " " 

c " " " 



Proper Method, " e " " " " " 

Root Pruning " " " 

Boy AVeeding " " A. J. Whitney. 

Early Spring Work Alfred Kappes Fred Juengling. 

A Duchess Row and Berry W. H. Gibson H. E. Schultz. 

Matted Bed System " " Photo-Eng. Co. 



I 2 Success with Small Fruits. 

Title. A riist. Engraver. 

Narrow Row and Hill Systems W. H. Gibson Photo- Eng. Co. 

The Forest Rose, etc " " E. A. Winham. 

Mr. Young's Cottage .W. L. Sheppard W. J. Dana. 

The First Glimpse " " J. F. Jungling. 

" A Little Brief Authority" " " E. Heinemann. 

Nondescript Edibles " " G. Kruell. 

" Git up, dar," etc " " Photo-Eng. Co. 

People who Take no Thought " " James Tynan. 

Exchanging and Counting Tickets. ... " " A. J. Whitney. 

Paying off Hands " " W. R. Bodenstab. 

Making Crates, etc " " J. H. E. Whitney. 

A Picker " " David NichoLs. 

Rushing the Last Lot " " S. S. Kilburn. 

Nature's Rouge Miss Jessie Curtis " " 

Franconia and Belle de Fontenay, etc. W. H. Gibson H. E. Schultz. 

Spring and Fall Plants " " Amer. Photo-Eng. Co, 

Winter Protection, ETC " " " " " " 

Tying Canes " " " " " " 

Storage Ground A. Kappes W. R. Bodenstab. 

Laying down Canes W. H. Gibson Amer. Photo-Eng. Co. 

Antwerp Class of Raspberries R. Riordan Miss C. A. Powell. 

Rush for the Night Boat . W. Taber J. H. E. Whitney. 

Approach of the Night Bo.at " " Thos. Plellawell. 

Native Raspberries R. Riordan S. S. Kilburn. 

RuBUS Occidentalis IV. II. Gibson Photo-Eng. Co. 

Herstine Raspberry, etc . . •' " A. J. Whitney. 

Gathering a Dainty Dish Miss Jessie Curtis W. R. Bodenstab. 

Gathering Wild Blackberries Winsloiv Homer James Tynan. 

KiTTATlNNY BLACKBERRY W. II. Gibson E. C. Held. 

Cuthbert Raspberry " " J. H. E. Whitney. 

Early Wilson Blackberry R. Riordan E. Kingsley. 

Snyder Blackberry W. H. Gibson H. Gray. 

White Grape Currants " " H. E. Schultz. 

In the Currant Field Miss Jessie Curtis J. Hellawell. 

Weighing Currants " " " W. R. Bodenstab. 

Late Emerald Gooseberry R. Riordan H. Schultz. 

The Jelly Wont Jell Mary Hallock Foote John P. Davis. 

Currants in Tree Form Miss Jessie Curtis A. J. Whitney. 

• Currant Cuttings, etc W. H. Gibsott Amer. Photo-Eng. Co. 

The Ideal Versailles Cluster " " " " " " 

The Strawberry's Chief Foe " " 

Cherry Currants " " S. S. Kilburn. 

Houghton Seedling . . " " Amer. Photo-Eng. Co. 

Downing Gooseberry R. Riordan H. Schultz. 

Taking the Crates, etc W. H. Gibson Geo. Smith. 

Quarters for Pickers W. Tal>er T. D. Sugden. 

The Deliberate Workman " " Jno. W. Evans. 

Picking Raspberries, etc " " " " " 

Marlboro' Thirds W. II. Gibson Amer. Photo-Eng. Co. 

SuNNYSiDE Fruit-Box " " " " " " 

A Hap-hazard Hoe A. B. Frost Photo-Eng. Co. 



CHAPTER I. 



Preliminary Parley. 



IN the ages that were somewhat shadowed, to say the least, when Nature 
indulged her own wild moods in man, and the world he trampled on 
rather than cultivated, there was a class who in their dreams and futile 
efforts became the unconscious prophets of our own time — the Alchemists. 
For centuries they believed they could transmute base metals into gold and 
silver. Modern knowledge enables us to work changes more beneficial 
than the alchemist ever dreamed of, and it shall be my aim to make one of 
these secrets as open as the sunlight in the fields and gardens wherein the 
beautiful mutations occur. To turn iron into gold would be a prosaic, 
barren process that might result in trouble to all concerned, but to trans- 
form heavy black earth and insipid rain-water into edible rubies with 
celestial perfume and ambrosial flavor, is indeed an art that appeals to the 
entire race, and enlists that imperious nether organ which has never lost 
its power over heart or brain. As long, therefore, as humanity's mouth 
waters at the thought of morsels more delicious even than " Sin under the 
tongue," I am sure of an audience when I discourse of strawberries and 
their kindred fruits. If apples led to the loss of Paradise, the reader will 
find described hereafter a list of fruits that will enable him to reconstruct 
a bit of Eden, even if the " Fall and all our woe" have left him possessed 
of merely a city yard. But land in the country, breezy hill-sides, moist, 
sheltered valleys, sunny plains — what opportunities for the divinest form 
of alchemy are here afforded to hundreds of thousands ! 



14 Success zvith Small Fi'idts. 

Many think of the soil only in connection with the sad words of 
the burial service — "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes." Let us, while we 
may, gain more cheerful associations with our kindred dust. For a time it 
can be earth to strawberry blossoms, ashes to bright red berries, and their 
color will get into our cheeks and their rich subacid juices into our insipid 
lives, constituting a mental, moral and physical alterative that will so 
change us that we shall believe in evolution and imagine ourselves fit for 
a higher state of existence. One may delve in the earth so long as to lose 
all dread at the thought of sleeping in it at last, and the luscious fruits and 
bright-hued flowers that come out of it, in a way no one can find out, may 
teach our own resurrection more effectually than do the learned theologians. 
We naturally feel that some good saints in the flesh, even though they 
are " pillars of the church," need more than a " sea-change" before they 
can become proper citizens of " Jerusalem the Golden," but having com- 
pared a raspberry bush, bending gracefully under its delicious burden, with 
the insignificant seed from which it grew, we are ready to believe in all 
possibiHties of good. Thus we may gather more than berries from our 
fruit-gardens. Nature hangs thoughts and suggestions on every spray, and 
blackberry bushes give many an impressive scratch to teach us that good 
and evil are very near together in this world, and that we must be careful 
while seeking the one, to avoid the other. In every field of life those who 
seek the fruit too rashly are almost sure to have a thorny experience, 
and to learn that prickings are provided for those who have no consciences. 
He who sees in the world around him only what strikes the eye lives in 
a poor, half-furnished house ; he who obtains from his garden only what he 
can eat gathers but a meager crop. If I find something besides berries on 
my vines, I shall pick it if so inclined. The scientific treatise, or precise 
manual, may break up the well-rooted friendship of plants, and compel 
them to take leave of each other, after the arbitrary fashion of methodical 
minds, but I must talk about them very much as nature has taught me, 
since, in respect to out-of-door life, my education was acquired almost 
wholly in the old-fashioned way at the venerable "dame's school." 
Nay more, I claim that I have warrant to gather from my horticultural 
texts more than can be sent to the dining-table or commission merchant. 
Such a matter-of-fact plant as the currant makes some attempt to embroider 
its humble life with ornament, and in April the bees will prove to you that 
honey may be gathered even from a gooseberry bush. Indeed, goose- 
berries are like some ladies that we all know. In their young and blos- 
soming days they are sweet and pink-hued, and then they grow acid, pale, 
and hard, but in the ripening experience of later life they become sweet 



Preliminary Parley. 15 

again and tender. Before they drop from their places the bees come back 
for honey, and find it. 

In brief, I propose to take the reader on quite an extended ramble 
among the small fruits. It is much the same as if I said, " Let us go a 
strawberry ing together," and we talked as we went over hill and through 
dale in a style somewhat in harmony with our wanderings. Very many, 
no doubt, will glance at these introductory words, and decline to go with 
me, correctly feeling that they can find better company. Other busy, 
practical souls will prefer a more compact, straightforward treatise that is 
like a lesson in a class-room rather than a stroll in the fields, or a tour 
among the fruit farms, and while sorry to lose their company, I have no 
occasion to find fault. 

I assure those, however, who, after this preliminary parley, decide to 
go further, that I will do my best to make our excursion pleasant, and to 
cause as little weariness as is possible, if we are to return with full baskets. 
I shall not follow the example of some thrifty people who invite one to go 
" a-berrying," but lead away from fruitful nooks, proposing to visit them 
alone by stealth. All the secrets I know shall beconie open ones. I shall 
conduct the reader to all the " good places," and name the good things I 
have discovered in half a lifetime of research. I would, therefore, mod- 
estly hint to the practical reader — to whom " time is money," who has an 
eye to the fruit only, and with whom the question of outlay and return is 
ever uppermost — that he may, after all, find it to his advantage to go with 
us. While we stop to gather a flower, listen to a brook or bird, or go out 
of our way occasionally to get a view, he can jog on, meeting us at every 
point where we "mean business." These points shall occur so often that 
he will not lose as much time as he imagines, and I think he will find my 
business talks business like — quite as practical as he desires. 

To come down to the plainest of plain prose, I am not a theorist on 
these subjects, nor do I dabble in small fruits as a rich and fanciful amateur, 
to whom it is a matter of indifference whether his strawberries cost five 
cents or a dollar a quart. As a farmer, milk must be less expensive than 
champagne. I could not afford a fruit farm at all if it did not more than 
pay its way, and in order to win the confidence of the " solid men," who 
want no " gush " or side sentiment, even though nature suggests some 
warrant for it, I will give a bit of personal experience. Five years since, I 
bought a farm of twenty-three acres that for several years had been rented, 
depleted, and suffered to run wild. Thickets of brush-wood extended from 
the fences well into the fields, and in a notable instance across the entire place. 
One portion was so stony that it could not be plowed ; another so wet and 



1 6 . Success with Small Fruits. 

sour that even grass would not grow upon it ; a third portion was not only 
swampy, but liable to be overwhelmed with stones and gravel twice a year 
by the sudden rising of a mountain stream. There was no fruit on the 
place except apples and a very few pears and grapes. Nearly ail of the 
land, as I found it, was too impoverished to produce a decent crop of 
strawberries. The location of the place, moreover, made it very expen- 
sive — it cost $19,000 — and yet during the third year of occupancy the 
income from this place approached very nearly to the outlay, and in 1878, 
during which my most expensive improvements were made, in the way of 
draining, taking out stones, etc., the income paid for these improvements, 
for current expenses, and gave a surplus of over $1,800. In 1879, the 
net income was considerably larger. In order that these statements may 
not mislead any one, I will add that in my judgment only the combined 
business of plants and fruit would warrant such expenses as I have incur- 
red. My farm is almost in the midst of a village, and the buildings upon it 
greatly increased its cost. Those who propose to raise and sell fruit only 
should not burden themselves with high-priced land. Farms, even on the 
Hudson, can be bought at quite moderate prices at a mile or more away 
from centers, and yet within easy reach of landings and railroad depots. 

Mr. Charles Downing, whose opinions on all horticultural questions 
are so justly valued, remarked to me that no other fruit was so affected by 
varying soils and climates as the strawberry. I have come to the conclu- 
sion that soil, locality and climate make such vast differences that unless 
these variations are carefully studied and indicated, books will mislead 
more people than they help. A man may write a treatise admirably 
adapted to his own farm ; but if one, living a thousand, a hundred, or 
even one mile away, followed the same method, he might almost utterly 
fail. While certain general and foundation principles apply to the culti- 
vation of each genus of fruit, important modifications and, in some 
instances, almost radical changes of method must be made in view of the 
varied conditions in which it is grown. 

It is even more important to know what varieties are best adapted to 
different localities and soils. While no experienced and candid authority 
will speak confidently and precisely on this point, much very useful infor- 
mation and suggestion may be given by one who, instead of theorizing, 
observes, questions and records facts as they are. The most profitable 
strawberry of the far South will produce scarcely any fruit in the North, 
although the plant grows well, and some of our best raspberries cannot 
even exist in a hot climate or upon very light soils. In the preparation of 
this book it has been my aim to stud^ these conditions, that I might give 



Preliminary Parley. i y 

advice useful in Florida and Canada, New York and California, as well as 
at Cornwall. I have maintained an extensive correspondence with practical 
fruit growers in all sections, and have read with care contributions to the 
horticultural press from widely separated localities. Not content with this, 
I have visited in person the great fruit-growing centers of New Jersey, 
Norfork and Richmond, Va. ; Charleston, S. C. ; Augusta and Savannah, 
Ga., and several points in Florida. Thus, from actual observation and 
full, free conversation, I have familiarized myself with both the Northern 
and Southern aspects of this industry, while my correspondence from the 
far West, South-west and California will, I hope, enable me to aid the 
novice in those regions also. 

I know in advance that my book will contain many and varied faults, 
but I intend that it shall be an expression of honest opinion. I do not 
like " foxy grapes" nor foxy words about them. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



Raison cVeire. 



SMALL fruits, to people who live in the country, are like heaven, — 
objects of universal desire and very general neglect. Indeed, in a 
land so peculiarly adapted to their cultivation, it is difficult to account 
for this neglect if you admit the premise that Americans are civilized and 
intellectual. It is the trait of a savage and inferior race to devour with 
immense gusto a delicious morsel, and then trust to luck for another. 
People who would turn away from a dish of "Monarch" strawberries, 
with their plump pink cheeks powdered Avith sugar, or from a plate of 
melting raspberries and cream, would be regarded as so eccentric as to 
suggest an asylum ; but the number of professedly intelligent and moral 
folk who ignore the simple means of enjoying the ambrosial viands daily, 
for weeks together, is so large as to shake one's confidence in human 
nature. A well-maintained fruit garden is a comparatively rare adjunct 
of even stylish and pretentious homes. In June, of all months, in sultry 
July and August, there arises from innumerable country breakfast tables, 
the pungent odor of a meat into which the devils went, but out of which 
there is no proof they ever came. From the garden under the windows 
might have been gathered fruits whose aroma would have tempted spirits 
of the air. The cabbage-patch may be seen afar, but too often the 
strawberry-bed, even if it exists, is hidden by weeds, and the later small 
fruits struggle for bare life in some neglected corner. Indeed, an 
excursion into certain parts of New England might suggest that 



bicreasc of Floiver and Fricit CidUire. 19 

many of its thrifty citizens would not have been content in Eden 
until they had put its best land into onions and tobacco. Through the 
superb scenery of Vermont there flows a river whose name, one might 
think, would secure an unfailing tide from the eyes of the inhabitants. 
The Alpine strawberry grows wild in all that region, but the Puritan 
smacked his lips over another gift of nature and named the romantic 
stream in its honor. To account for certain tastes or tendencies, mankind 
must certainly have fallen a little way, or, if Mr. Darwin's view is correct, 
and we are on a slight up-grade, a dreadful hitch and tendency to backslide 
has been apparent at a certain point ever since the Hebrews sighed for 
the "leeks and onions of Egypt." 

Of course, there is little hope for the rural soul that " loathes " the 
light manna of small fruits. We must leave it to evolution for another 
cycle or two. But, as already indicated, we believe that humanity in the 
main has reached a point where its internal organs highly approve of the 
delicious group of fruits that strayed out of Paradise, and have not yet 
lost themselves among the "thorns and thistles." Indeed, modern skill — 
the alchemy of our age — has wrought such wonders that Eden is possible 
again to ail who will take the trouble to form Eden-like tastes and 
capacities. 

The number who are doing this is increasing every year. The large 
demand for literature relating to out-of-door life, horticultural journals, 
like the fruits of which they treat, flourishing in regions new and remote, 
are proof of this. The business of supplying fruit-trees, plants, and even 
flowers, is becoming a vast industry. I have been informed that one 
enterprising firm annually spends thousands in advertising roses only. 

But, while we welcome the evidences that so many are ceasing to be 
bucolic heathen, much observation has shown that the need of further 
enlightenment is large indeed. It is depressing to think of the number of 
homes about which fruits are conspicuous only by their absence^ — homes 
of every class, from the laborer's cottage and pioneer's cabin to the 
suburban palace. Living without books and pictures is only a little 
worse than living in the country without fruits and flowers. We must 
respect to some extent the old ascetics, who, in obedience to mistaken 
ideas of duty, deprived themselves of the good things God provided, even 
while we recognize the stupidity of such a course. Little children are 
rarely so lacking in sense as to try to please their father by contempt- 
uously turning away from his best gifts, or by treating them with 
indifference. Why do millions live in the country, year after year, raising 
weeds and brambles, or a few coarse vegetables, when the choicest fruits 



20 Success with Small Fruits. 

would grow almost as readily ? They can plead no perverted sense of 
duty. 

It is a question hard to answer. Some, perhaps, have the delusion that 
fine small fruits are as difficult to raise as orchids. They class them with 
hot-house grapes. Others think they need so little attention that they can 
stick a few plants in hard, poor ground and leave them to their fate. One 
might as well try to raise canary-birds and kittens together as strawberries 
and weeds. There is a large class who believe in small fruits, and know 
their value. They enjoy them amazingly at a friend's table, and even buy 
some when they are cheap. A little greater outlay and a little intelligent 
effort would give them an abundant supply from their own grounds. In a 
vague way they are aware of this, and reproach themselves for their negli- 
gence, but time passes and there is no change for the better. Why ? I 
don't know. There are men who rarely kiss their wives and children. For 
them the birds sing unheeded and even unheard ; flowers become mere 
objects, and sunsets suggest only "quitting time." In theory they believe 
in all these things. What can be said of them save that they simply jog 
on to-day as they did yesterday, ever dimly hoping at some time or other 
" to live up to their privileges." But they usually go on from bad to worse, 
until, like their neglected strawberry-beds, they are " turned under." 

In cities not a hundred miles from my farm there are abodes of wealth 
with spacious grounds, where, in many instances, scarcely any place is 
found for small fruits. " It is cheaper and easier to buy them," it is said. 
This is a sorry proof of civilization. There is no economy in the barbaric 
splendor of brass buttons and livery, but merely a little trouble (I doubt about 
money) is saved on the choicest luxuries of the year. The idea of going 
out of their rural paradises to buy half-stale fruit! But this class is largely 
at the mercy of the " hired man," or his more disagreeable development, 
the pretentious smatterer, who, so far from possessing the knowledge that 
the English, Scotch or German gardeners acquire in their long thorough 
training, is a compound of ignorance and prejudice. To hide his barrenness 
of mind he gives his soul to rare plants, clipped lawns, but stints the family 
in all things save his impudence. If he tells his obsequious employers that 
it is easier and cheaper to buy their fruit than to raise it, of course there is 
naught to do but go to the market and pick up what they can ; and yet 
Dr. Thurber says, with a vast deal of force, that " the unfortunate people 
who buy their fruit do not know what a strawberry is." 

In all truth and soberness, it is a marvel and a shame that so many sane 
people who profess to have passed beyond the habits of the wilderness will 
not give the attention required by these unexacting fruits. The man who 



The Fniit Garde}!.. 



21 



has learned to write his name can learn to raise them successfully. The 
ladies who know how to keep their homes neat through the labors of their 
" intelligent help," could also learn to manage a fruit garden even though 
employing the stupidest oaf that ever blundered through life. The 
method is this : First learn how yourself, and then let your laborer thor- 
oughly understand that he gets no wages unless he does as he is told. In 
the complicated details of a plant farm there is much that needs constant 
supervision, but the work of an ordinary fruit garden is, in the main, 
straightforward and simple. The expenditure of a little time, money, and, 
above all things, of seasonable labor, is so abundantly repaid that one 
would think that bare self-interest would solve invariably the simple prob- 
lem of supply. 

As mere articles of food, these fruits are exceedingly valuable. They 
are capable of sustaining severe and continued labor. For months 
together we might become almost independent of butcher and doctor if we 
made our places produce all that nature permits. Purple grapes will hide 
unsightly buildings ; currants, raspberries and blackberries will grow along 
the fences and in the corners that are left to burdocks and brambles. I 
have known invalids to improve from the first day that berries were brought 
to the table, and thousands would exchange their sallow complexions, sick- 
headaches, and general ennui for a breezy interest in life and its abound- 
ing pleasures, if they would only take nature's palpable hint, and enjoy the 
seasonable food she provides. Belles can find better cosmetics in the fruit 
garden than on their toilet tables, and she who paints her cheeks with the 
pure, healthful blood that is made from nature's choicest gifts, and the 
exercise of gathering them, can give her lover a kiss that will make him 
wish for another. 

The famous Dr. Hosack, of New York city, who attended Alexander 
Hamilton after he received his fatal wound from Burr, was an enthusiast on 
the subject of fruits. It was his custom to terminate his spring course of 
lectures with a strawberry festival. " I must let the class see," he said, 
"that we are practical as well as theoretical. Linnaeus cured his gout and 
protracted his life by eating strawberries." 

" They are a dear article," a friend remarked, " to gratify the appetites 
of so many." 

" Yes, indeed," replied the doctor, " but from our present mode of 
culture they will become cheap." 

It is hard to realize how scarce this fruit was sixty or seventy years 
ago, but the prediction of the sagacious physician has been verified even 
beyond his imagination. Strawberries are raised almost as abundantly 



2.2 Success zvitk Small Fruits. 

as potatoes, and for a month or more can be eaten as a cheap and 
wholesome food by all classes, even the poorest. By a proper selection 
of varieties we, in our home, feast upon them six weeks together, and 
so might the majority of those whose happy lot is cast in the country. 
The small area of a city yard planted with a few choice kinds will often 
yield surprising returns under sensible culture. 

If we cultivate these beautiful and delicious fruits we always have 
the power of giving pleasure to others, and he's a churl and she a pale 
reflection of Xantippe who does not covet this power. The faces of our 
guests brighten as they snuff from afar the delicate aroma. Our vines 
can furnish gifts that our friends will ever welcome ; and by means of 
their products we can pay a homage to genius that will be far more 
grateful than commonplace compliments. I have seen a letter from the 
Hon. Wm. C. Bryant, which is a rich return for the few strawberries 
that were sent to him, and the thought that they gave him pleasure 
gives the donor far more. They are a gift that one can bestow and 
another take without involving any compromise on either side, since 
they belong to the same category as smiles, kind words and the universal 
freemasonry of friendship. Faces grow radiant over a basket of fruit or 
flowers that would darken with anger at other gifts. 

If, in the circle of our acquaintance, there are those shut up 
to the weariness and heavy atmosphere of a sick-room, in no way can 
we send a ray of sunlight athwart their pallid faces more effectually than 
by placing a basket of fragrant fruit on the table beside them. Even 
though the physician may render it "forbidden fruit," their eyes will feast 
upon it and the aroma will teach them that the world is not passing 
on, unheeding and uncaring whether they live or die. 

The Fruit and Flower Mission of New York is engaged in a beautiful 
and most useful charity. Into tenement-houses and the hot close wards of 
city hospitals, true sisters of mercy of the one Catholic church of love and 
kindness carry the fragrant emblems of an Eden that was lost, but may 
be regained even by those who have wandered farthest from its beauty 
and purity. Men and women, with faces seemingly hardened and 
grown rigid under the impress of vice, that but too correctly reveal the 
coarse and brutal nature within, often become wistful and tender over 
some simple flower or luscious fruit that recalls earlier and happier days. 
These are gifts which offend no prejudices, and inevitably suggest that 
which is good, sweet, wholesome and pure. For a moment, at least, and 
perhaps forever, they may lead stained and debased creatures to turn their 
faces heavenward. There are little suffering children also in the hospitals ; 



TJie Fniit Garden. 



23 



there are exiles from country homes and country Hfe in the city who 
have been swept down not by evil but the dark tides of disaster, poverty 
and disease, and to such it is a privilege as well as a pleasure to send gifts 
that will tend to revive hope and courage. That we may often avail 
ourselves of these gracious opportunities of giving the equivalent of a 
" cup of cold water," we should plant fruits and flowers in abundance. 




tM 



■dlw 



The New York Flower and Fruit Mission. — A Gift of Strawberries. 



One of the sad features of our time is the tendency of young people 
to leave their country homes. And too often one does not need to look 
far for the reason. Life at the farm-house sinks into deep ruts, and becomes 
weary plodding. There are too many "one-ideaed" farmers and farms. 
It is corn, potatoes, wheat, butter or milk. The staple production absorbs 
all thought and everything else is neglected. Nature demands that young 
people should have variety, and furnishes it in abundance. The stolid 
farmer too often ignores nature and the cravings of youth, and insists on 
the heavy monotonous work of his specialty, early and late, the year 
around, and then wonders why in his declining years there are no 



24 



Success zvith Small Fruits. 



strong young hands to lighten his toil. The boy who might have hved a 
sturdy, healthful, independent life among his native hills is a bleached 
and sallow youth measuring ribbons and calicoes behind a city counter. 
The girl who might have been the mistress of a tree-shadowed country 
house disappears under much darker shadows in town. But for their 




The Home She Might Have Had. 

early home life, so meager and devoid of interest, they might have 
breathed pure air all their days. 

Not the least among the means of making a home attractive would be 
a well-maintained fruit garden. The heart and the stomach have been 
found nearer together by the metaphysicians than the physiologists, and 
if the " house mother," as the Germans say, beamed often at her children 
over a great dish of berries flanked by a pitcher of unskimmed milk, not 
only good blood and good feeling would be developed, but something 
that the poets call " early ties." 

There is one form of gambling or speculation that, within proper 
limits, is entirely innocent and healthful — the raising of new seedling 
fruits and the testing of new varieties. In these pursuits, the elements of 
chance, skill and judgment enter so evenly that they are an unfailing 
source of pleasurable excitement. The catalogues of plant, tree and seed 



The Fruit Garde7i. 25 

dealers abound in novelties. The majority of them cannot endure the 
test of being grown by the side of our well-known standard kinds, but 
now and then an exceedingly valuable variety, remarkable for certain 
qualities or peculiarly adapted to special localities and uses, is developed. 
There is not only an unfailing pleasure in making these discoveries, but 
often a large profit. If, three or four years ago, a country boy had 
bought a dozen Sharpless strawberry plants, and propagated from them, 
he might now obtain several hundred dollars from their increased 
numbers. Time only can show whether this novelty will become a 
standard variety, but at present the plants are in great demand. 

The young people of a country home may become deeply interested 
in originating new seedlings. A thousand strawberry seeds will produce a 
thousand new kinds, and, although the prospects are that none of them 
will equal those now in favor, something very fine and superior may be 
obtained. Be this as it may, if these simple natural interests prevent boys 
and girls from being drawn into the maelstrom of city life, until character 
is formed, each plant will have a value beyond silver or gold. 

One of the supreme rewards of human endeavor is a true home, and 
surely it is as stupid as it is wrong to neglect some of the simplest and 
yet most effectual means of securing this crown of earthly life. A home 
is the product of many and varied causes, but I have yet to see the man 
who will deny that delicious small fruits for eight months of the year and 
the richer pleasure even of cultivating and gathering them, may become 
one of the chief contributions to this result. I use the words " eight 
months " advisedly, for even now, January 29, we are enjoying grapes 
that were buried in the ground last October. I suppose my children are 
very material and unlike the good little people who do not live long, but 
they place a white mark against the days on which we unearth a jar of 
grapes. 



CHAPTER III. 



SMALL FRUIT FARMING AND ITS PROFITS. 



A FARM without a fruit garden may justly be regarded as proof of a 
low state of civilization in the farmer. No country home should be 
without such simple means of health and happiness. For obvious reasons, 
however, there is not, and never can be, the same room for fruit raising 
as there is for grain, grass, and stock farming. Nevertheless, the oppor- 
tunities to engage with profit in this industry on a large scale are increasing 
every year. From being a luxury of a few, the small fruits have become 
an article of daily food to the million. Even the country village must 
have its supply, and the number of crates that are shipped from New York 
city to neighboring towns is astonishingly large. As an illustration of the 
rapidly enlarging demand for these fruits, let us consider the experience of 
one Western city — Cincinnati. Mr. W. H. Corbly, who is there regarded 
as one of the best informed on these subjects, has gathered the following 
statistics: "In 1835 it was regarded as a most wonderful thing that lOO 
bushels of strawberries could be disposed of on the Cincinnati market in 
one day, and was commented on as a great event. A close estimate shows 
that during the summer of 1879 eighty to eighty-five thousand bushels of 
strawberries were sold in Cincinnati. Of course, a large part of these berries 
were shipped away, but it is estimated that nearly one-half were consumed 
here. About the year 1838, the cultivation of black raspberries was com- 
menced in this county by James Gallagher and F. A. McCormick of 
Salem, Anderson township. The first year, Gallagher's largest shipment 
in one day was six bushels, and McCormick's four. When they were 



Fruit Farniinsr. 



27 



placed on the market, McCormick sold out at 6]/^ cents per quart, and 
Gallagher held off till McCorrfiick had sold out, when he put his on sale 
and obtained 8^ cents per quart, and the demand was fully supplied. It 
is estimated that the crop for the year of 1879, handled in Cincinnati, 
amounted to from seventy-five thousand to eighty thousand bushels — the 
crop being a fairly good one — selling at an average of about $2 per bushel." 
It has been stated in the Cotmtry Gentleman that about $5,000,000 worth 
of small fruits were sold in Michigan in one year; and the same authority 
estimates that $25,000,000 worth are consumed annually in New York 
city. In the future, it would seem that this demand would increase even 
more rapidly ; for in every fruit-growing region immense canning establish- 
ments are coming into existence, to which the markets of the world are 
open. Therefore, in addition to the thousands already embarked in this 
industry, still larger numbers will engage in it during the next few years. 

Those who now for the first time are turning their attention toward 
this occupation may be divided mainly into two classes. The first consists 
of established farmers, who, finding markets within their reach, extend their 
patches of raspberries, currants, or strawberries to such a degree that they 
have a surplus to sell. To the extent that such sales are remunera- 
tive, they increase the area of fruits, until in many instances they become 
virtually fruit farmers. More often a few acres are devoted to horticulture, 
and the rest of the farm is carried on in the old way. 

The second class is made up chiefly of those who are unfamiliar with 
the soil and its culture — mechanics, professional men, who hope to regain 
health by coming back to nature, and citizens whose ill-success or instincts 
suggest country life and labors. From both these classes, and especially 
from the latter, I receive very many letters, containing all kinds of ques- 
tions. The chief burden on most minds, however, is summed up in the 
words, "Do small fruits pay?" To meet the needs of these two classes 
is one of the great aims of this work ; and it is my most earnest wish not 
to mislead by high-colored pictures. 

Small fruits pay many people well ; and unless location, soil, or climate 
is hopelessly against one, the degree of profit will depend chiefly upon 
his skill, judgment, and industry. The raising of small fruits is like other 
callings in which some are getting rich, more earning a fair livelihood, and 
not a few failing. It is a business in which there is an abundance. of sharp, 
keen competition ; and ignorance, poor judgment, and shiftless, idle ways 
will be as fatal as in the workshop, store, or office. 

Innumerable failures result from inexperience. I will give one extreme 
example, which may serve to illustrate the sanguine mental condition of 



28 Success with Small Fruits. 

many who read of large returns in fruit culture. A young man who had 
inherited a few hundred dollars wrote me that he could hire a piece of 
land for a certain amount, and he wished to invest the balance — every 
cent — in plants, thus leaving himself no capital with which to continue 
operations, but expecting that a speedy crop would lift him at once into a 
prosperous career. I wrote that under the circumstances I could not 
supply him — that it would be about the same as robbery to do so; and 
advised him to spend several years with a practical and successful fruit- 
grower and learn the business. 

Most people enter upon this calling in the form of a wedge ; but only 
too many commence at the blunt end, investing largely at once in 
everything, and therefore their business soon tapers down to nothing. 
The wise begin at the point of the wedge and develop their calling 
naturally, healthfully; learning, by experience and careful observation, how 
to grow fruits profitably, and which kinds pay the best. There ought 
also to be considerable capital to start with, and an absence of the crushing 
burden of interest money. No fruits yield any returns before the 
second or third year ; and there are often unfavorable seasons and glutted 
markets. Nature's prizes are won by patient, persistent industry, and not 
by Wall street sleight of hand. 

Location is very important. A fancy store, however well-furnished, 
would be a ruinous investment at a country cross-road. The fruit farm 
must be situated where there is quick and cheap access to good markets, 
and often the very best market may be found at a neighboring village, 
summer resort, or a canning establishment. Enterprise and industry, 
however, seem to surmount all obstacles. The Rev. Mr. Knox shipped 
his famous " 700 " strawberry (afterward known to be the Jucunda, a 
foreign variety) from Pittsburg to New York, securing large returns ; 
and, take the country over, the most successful fruit farms seem to be 
located where live men live and work. Still, if one were about to 
purchase, sound judgment would suggest a very careful choice of locality 
with speedy access to good markets. Mr. J. J. Thomas, editor of the 
Country Gentleman, in a paper upon the Outlook of Fruit Culture, read 
before the Western N. Y. Horticultural Society, laid down three essentials 
to success. 

1st. Locality — -a region found by experience to be adapted to fruit 
growing. 2d. Wise selection of varieties of each kind. 3d. Care and 
culture of these varieties. He certainly is excellent authority. 

These obvious considerations, and the facts that have been instanced, 
make it clear that brains must unite with labor and capital. Above 



Fruit Farminsr. 



29 



all, however, there must be trained, practical skill. Those succeed who 
learn how ; and to add a little deftness to unskilled hands is the 
object of every succeeding page. At the same time, I frankly admit 
that nothing can take the place of experience. I once asked an 
eminent physician if a careful reading of the best medical text-books 
and thorough knowledge of the materia medica could take the place 
of daily study of actual disease and fit a man for practice, and he 
emphatically answered " No ! " It is equally true that an intelligent 
man can familiarize himself with every horticultural writer, from the classic 
age to our own, and yet be outstripped in success by an ignorant Irish 
laborer who has learned the little he knows in the school of experience. 
The probabilities are, however, that the laborer will remain such all his 
days, while the thoughtful, reading man, who is too sensible to be carried 
away by theories, and who supplements his science with experience, may 
enrich not only himself but the world. 

Still there is no doubt that the chances of success are largely in 
favor of the class I first named — the farmers who turn their attention in 
part or wholly toward fruit growing. They are accustomed to hard 
out-of-door work and the general principles of agriculture. The first is 
always essential to success ; and a good farmer can soon become equally 
skillful in the care of fruits if he gives his mind to their culture. The 
heavy, stupid, prejudiced plodder who thinks a thing is right solely because 
his grandfather did it, is a bucolic monster that is receding so fast into 
remote wilds before the horticultural press that he scarcely need be taken 
into account. Therefore, the citizen or professional man inclined to 
engage in fruit farming should remember that he must compete with the 
hardy, intelligent sons of the soil, who, in most instances, are crowning 
their practical experience with careful reading. I do not say this to 
discourage any one, but only to secure a thoughtful and adequate consider- 
ation of the subject before the small accumulations of years are embarked 
in what may be a very doubtful venture. Many have been misled to 
heavy loss by enthusiastic works on horticulture ; I wish my little book 
to lead only to success. 

If white-handed, hollow-chested professional men anxious to acquire 
money, muscle and health by fruit raising — if citizens disgusted with 
pavements and crowds are willing to take counsel of common sense and 
learn the business practically and thoroughly, why should they not succeed? 
But let no one imagine that horticulture is the final resort of ignorance, 
indolence or incapacity, physical or mental. Impostors palm themselves off 
on the world daily ; a credulous public takes poisonous nostrums by the 



3© Success with Small Fndts. 

ton and butt ; but nature recognizes error every time, and quietly thwarts 
those who try to wrong her, either willfully or blunderingly. 

Mr. Peter Henderson, who has been engaged practically in vegetable 
gardening for over a quarter of a century, states, as a result of his expe- 
rience, that capital, at the rate of $300 per acre, is required in starting a 
"truck farm," and that the great majority fail who make the attempt with 
less means. In my opinion, the fruit farmer would require capital in like 
proportion ; for, while many of the small fruits can be grown with less prep- 
aration of soil and outlay in manure, the returns come more slowly, since, 
with the exception of strawberries, none of them yield a full crop until the 
third or fourth year. I advise most urgently against the incurring of heavy 
debts. Better begin with three acres than thirty, or three hundred, from 
which a large sum of interest money must be obtained before a penny can 
be used for other purposes. Anything can be raised from a farm easier 
than a mortgage. 

Success depends very largely, also, on the character of the soil. If it 
is so high and dry as to suffer severely from drouth two years out of three, 
it cannot be made to pay except by irrigation ; if so low as to be wet, 
rather than moist, the prospects are but little better. Those who are per- 
manently settled must do their best with such land as they have, and in a 
later chapter I shall suggest how differing soils should be managed. To 
those who can still choose their location, I would recommend a deep mel- 
low loam, with a rather compact subsoil — moist, but capable of thorough 
drainage. Diversity of soil and exposure offer peculiar advantages also. 
Some fruits thrive best in a stiff clay, others in sandy upland. Early 
varieties ripen earlier on a sunny slope, while a late kind is rendered later 
on a northern hill-side, or in the partial shade of a grove. In treating each 
fruit and variety, I shall try to indicate the soils and exposures to which 
they are best adapted. 

Profits. The reader will naturally wish for some definite statements of 
the profits of fruit farming ; but I almost hesitate to comply with this desire. 
A gentleman wrote to me that he sold from an acre of Cuthbert raspber- 
ries $800 worth of fruit. In view of this fact, not a few will sit down and 
begin to figure — " If one acre yielded $800, ten acres would produce $8,000; 
twenty acres $16,000, &c. Multitudes have been led into trouble by this 
kind of reasoning. The capacity of an engine with a given motor power 
can be measured, and certain and unvarying results predicted ; but who can 
measure the resources of an acre through varying seasons and under differ- 
ing culture, or foretell the price of the crops? In estimating future profits, 
we can only approximate ; and the following records are given merely to 



Fruit Fanning. 31 

show what results have been secured, and therefore may be obtained again, 
and even surpassed. The Country Gentleman gives a well-authenticated 
instance of a fruit grower who " received more than $2,000 from three 
acres of strawberries." In contrast, however, it could be shown that many 
fields have not paid expenses. I once had such an experience. The 
market was " glutted," and the variety yielded berries so small and poor 
that they did not average five cents per quart. Occasionally, we hear of 
immense shipments from the South being thrown into the dock. 

Mr. William Parry, a veteran fruit grower in New Jersey, states the 
truth I wish to convey very clearly, and gives a fair mean between these 
two extremes : 

" YIELD AND PROFIT. 

" There are so many circumstances connected with strawberry growing, such as 
varieties, soil, climate, location, markets, and the skill and management of the 
grower, that the results of a few cases cannot be relied on for general rules. 

" We have grown over two hundred bushels per acre here, and realized upward 
of six hundred dollars per acre for the crop ; but that is much above the general 
average. Having kept a careful record, for fourteen years past, of the yield per acre 
and price per quart at which our strawberries have been sold, we find the average to 
be about 2,500 quarts per acre, and the price eleven cents per quart in market, giving 
the following results : 

Commissions, 10 per cent $27 . 50 

Picking 2,500 quarts, at 2c. per quart . . , 50 . 00 

Manure 17-50 

Use of Baskets 10.00 

Cultivation, etc 25.00 

Net profits per acre 145 . 00 



Gross proceeds. 2,500 quarts at iic $275. 



00 



In the year 1876, the same gentleman had ten acres of Brandy wine 
raspberries that yielded about 82 bushels to the acre, giving a clear profit 
of $280, or of $2,800 for the entire area. This crop, so far from being the 
average, was awarded a premium as the most profitable that year in the 
section. 

J. R. Gaston & Sons, of Normal, 111., have given the following record 
of a plantation of Snyder blackberries : " We commenced to pick a 
field of seven acres July 12th, and finished picking August 22d. The 
total amount gathered was 43,575 quarts, equal to 1,361 bushels and 22 
quarts. The average price was eight cents per quart, making the gross 



y 



32 



Success with Small Fruits. 



proceeds equal to $3,486. We paid for picking $43575- The cost of 
trimming and cultivating was about $400; cost of boxes, crates and 
marketing was $1,307.25, leaving a net profit of $1,343." 

A gentleman in Ulster Co., N. Y., stated that 200 bushes of the 
Cherry currant yielded him in one season 1,000 lbs. of fruit, which was 
sold at an average of eight cents per pound. His gross receipts were 
$80 from one-fourteenth of an acre, and at the same ratio an acre would 
have yielded $1,120. Is this an average yield? So far from it, there 
are many acres of currants and gooseberries that do not pay expenses. 
Thus it can be seen that the scale ranges from marvelous prizes down 
to blanks and heavy losses ; but the drawing is not a game of chance, 
but usually the result of skill and industry, or their reverse. 




Tools for a Strawberry Farm. 



I might have given many examples of large, and even enormously 
large, profits obtained under exceptional circumstances ; but they tend 
to mislead. I write for those whose hearts prompt them to co-work with 
nature, and who are most happy when doing her bidding in the breezy 
fields and gardens, content with fair rewards, instead of being consumed 
by the gambler's greed for unearned gold. At the same time, I am 
decidedly in favor of high culture, and the most generous enriching 
of the soil ; convinced that fruit growers and farmers in general would 
make far more money if they spent upon one acre what they usually 
expend on three. In a later chapter will be found an instance of an 
expenditure of $350 per acre on strawberry land, and the net profits 
obtained were proportionately large. 



CHAPTER IV. 



STRAWBERRIES — THE FIVE SPECIES AND THEIR HISTORY. 



THE conscientious Diedrich Knickerbocker, that venerated historian 
from whom all good citizens of New York obtain the first impres- 
sions of their ancestry, felt that he . had no right to chronicle the 
vicissitudes of Manhattan Island until he had first accounted for the 
universe of which it is a part. Equally with the important bit of land 
named, the strawberry belongs to the existing cosmos, and might be 
traced back to "old chaos." I hasten to re-assure the dismayed reader. 
I shall not presume to follow one who could illumine his page with 
genius, and whose extensive learning enabled him to account for the 
universe, not merely in one but in half a dozen ways. 

It is the tendency of the present age to ask what is, not what has 
been or shall be. And yet, on the part of some, as they deliberately 
enjoy a saucer of strawberries and cream, — it is a pleasure that we 
prolong for obvious reasons, — a languid curiosity may arise as to the 
origin and history of so delicious a fruit. I suppose Mr. Darwin would 
say, "it was evolved." But some specimens between our lips suggest 
that a Geneva watch could put itself together quite as readily. At the 
same time, it must be said that our " rude forefathers" did not eat 
Monarch or Charles Downing strawberries. In few fruits, probably, have 
there been such vast changes or improvements as in this. Therefore, 
I shall answer briefly and as well as I can, in view of the meager data 

5 33 



34 Success zvith Small Fruits. 

and conflicting opinions of the authorities, the curiosity that I have 
imagined on some faces. Those who care only for the strawberry of 
to-day can easily skip a few pages. 

If there were as much doubt about a crop of this fruit as concern- 
ing the origin of its name, the outlook would be dismal, indeed. In old 
Saxon, the word was streazvbet'ige or streowbcrrie ; and was so named, 
says one authority, " from the straw-like stems of the plant, or from the 
berries lying strewn upon the ground." Another authority tells us: 
" It is an old English practice " (let us hope a modern one also) " to 
lay straw between the rows to preserve the fruit from rotting on the 
wet ground, from which the name has been supposed to be derived ; 
although more probably it is from the wandering habit of the plant, 
straw being a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon strm, from which we have 
the English verb stray." Again, tradition asserts that in the olden times 
children strung the berries on straws for sale, and hence the name. 
Several other causes have been suggested, but I forbear. I have never 
known, however, a person to decline the fruit on the ground of this 
obscurity and doubt. (Controversialists and skeptics please take note.) 

That the strawberry should belong to the rose family, and that its 
botanical name should be fragaria, from the Latin fragro, to smell 
sweetly, will seem both natural and appropriate. 

While for his knowledge of the plant I refer the reader to every hill- 
side and field (would that I might say, to every garden !), there is a pecul- 
iarity in the production of the fruit which should 
■\J)4al^, ^ot pass unnoted. Strictly speaking, the small 

^i^'^'^\x\]')iil^h seeds scattered over the surface of the berry are 

W '^^\ 'Jl/Z/W ^^^^ fruit, and it is to perfect these seeds that the 

sW^^ ^f', K^ plants blossom, the stamens scatter, and the 
c^^^/^% '^y &) pistils receive the pollen on the convex recepta- 
^:;;^;^^^%/' f..^==^^^<^^=5:=, cle, which, as the seeds ripen, greatly enlarges, 
^ — '''""M"""-""''''''^ and becomes the pulpy and delicious mass that 

\v is popularly regarded as the fruit. So far from 

Seeds and Pulp of the being the fruit, it is only "the much altered 

Strawberry. ° "^ _ 

end of the stem" that sustains the fruit or seeds ; 
and so it becomes a beautiful illustration of a kindly, genuine courtesy, 
which renders an ordinary service with so much grace and graciousness 
that we dwell on the manner with far more pleasure than on the 
service itself 

The innumerable varieties of strawberries that are now in existence 
appear, either in their character or origin, to belon.<^ to five great and quite 



Strazvberrics — Origin and History. 



15 




distinct species. The first, and for a long time the only one of which we 
have any record, is the Fragaria Vesca, or the Alpine strawberry. It is 
one of the most widely spread fruits 
of the world, for it grows, and for 
centuries has grown, wild through- 
out Northern and Central Europe 
and Asia, following the mountains 
far to the south ; and on this conti- 
nent, from time immemorial, the 
Indian children have gathered it 
from the Northern Atlantic to the 
Pacific. In England this species 
exhibits some variation from the 
Alpine type, and was called by our ancestors the Wood strawberry. The 
chief difference between the two is in the form of the fruit, the Wood 
varieties being round and the Alpine conical. They are also subdivided 
into white and red, annual and monthly varieties, and those that produce 
no runners, which are known to-day as Bush Alpines. 

The Alpine, as we find it growing wild, was the strawberry of the 
ancients. It is to it that the suggestive lines of Virgil refer, 

"Ye boys that gather flowers and strawberries, 
Lo, hid within the grass an adder lies." 



The Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria Vesca). 




fcerirjcs., 



l^,kid within tke g!'a|"4<i" aJirJies " 




J.FRANK JUHSLIMG-S 



There is no proof, I believe, that the strawberry was cultivated during 
any of the earlier civilizations. Some who wrote most explicitly con- 



36 Success zvitli Small Fruits. 

cerning the fruit culture of their time do not mention it ; and Virgil, Ovid, 
and Pliny name it but casually, and with no reference to its cultivation. It 
may appear a little strange that the luxurious Romans, who fed on night- 
ingales' tongues, peacocks' brains, and scoured earth and air for delicacies, 
should have given but little attention to this fruit. Possibly they early 
learned the fact that this species is essentially a wildling, and, like the trail- 
ing arbutus, thrives best in its natural haunts. The best that grew could 
be gathered from mountain-slopes and in the crevices of rocks. Moreover, 
those old revelers became too wicked and sensual to relish Alpine straw- 
berries. 

Its congener, the Wood strawberry, was the burden of one of the 
London street cries 400 years ago ; and to-day the same cry, in some 
language or other, echoes around the northern hemisphere as one of the 
inevitable and welcome sounds of spring and early summer. 

But few, perhaps, associate this lowly little fruit, that is almost as 
delicate and shy as the anemone, with tragedy ; and yet its chief poetical 
associations are among the darkest and saddest that can be imagined. 
Shakspeare's mention of the strawberry in the play of Richard III. was an 
unconscious but remarkable illustration of the second line already quoted 
from Virgil : 

" Lo, hid within the grass an adder lies." 

The bit of history which is the occasion of this allusion is given in the 
quaint old English of Sir Thomas More, who thus describes the entrance 
to the Council of the terrible " Protector," from whom nothing good or 
sacred could be protected. He came " fyrste about IX of the clocke, 
saluting them curtesly, and excusing himself that he had been from them 
so long, saieing merily that he had been a slepe that day. And after a 
little talking with them he said unto the bishop of Elye, my lord, You 
have very good strawberries at your gardayne in Holberne, I require you 
let us have a messe of them." He who has raised fine fruit will know how 
eagerly the flattered bishop obeyed. According to the poet, the dis- 
sembler also leaves the apartment, with his unscrupulous ally, Buckingham. 

" Wliere is my lord protector ? I have sent 
For these strawberries," 

said the Bishop of Ely, re-entering. 

Lord Hastings looks around with an air of general congratulation, and 

remarks : 

" His grace looks cheerfully and smooth this morning; 
There 's some conceit or other likes him well." 



Strawberries — Origin and History. 37 

The serpent is hidden, but very near. A moment later, Gloster enters, 
black as night, hisses his monstrous charge, and before noon of that same 
day poor Hastings is a headless corpse. 

Far more sad and pitiful are the scenes recalled by the words of the 
fiendish lago — type for all time of those who transmute love into 
jealousy : 

" Tell me but this— 
Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief, 
Spotted with strawberries, in your wife's hand?" 

"I gave her such a one; 't was my first gift," 

was the answer of a man whom the world will never forgive, in spite of his 

immeasurable remorse. 

From the poet Spencer we learn that to go a-strawberrying was one 

of the earliest pastimes of the English people. In the " Faerie Queen " 

we find these lines : 

" One day, as they all three together went 

To the green wood to gather strawberries, 
There chaunst to them a dangerous accident." 

Very old, too, is the following nursery rhyme, which, nevertheless, 
suggests the true habitat of the F. Vesca species : 

" The man of the wilderness asked me, 
How many strawberries grew in the sea; 
I answered him, as I thought good, 
'As many red herrings as grew in the wood.' " 

The ambrosial combination of strawberries and cream was first named 

by Sir Philip Sidney. Old Thomas Tusser, of the i6th century, in his 

work, " Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry united to as many of 

Good Housewifery," turns the strawberry question over to his wife, and 

doubtless it was in better hands than his, if his methods of culture were as 

rude as his poetry : 

" Wife, into the garden, and set me a plot 
With strawberry roots, of the best to be got ; 
Such, growing abroad, among thorns in the wood, 
Well chosen and picked, prove excellent good." 

Who " Dr. Boteler " was, or what he did, is unknown, but he made a 
sententious remark which led Izaak Walton to give him immortality in 
his work, " The Compleat Angler." " Indeed, my good schollar," the 
serene Izaak writes, " we may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of 



38 * Success zvith Small Prints. 

strawberries, ' Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubt- 
less God never did ;' and so, if I might be judge, God never did make a 
more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling." If this was true of 
the wild Wood strawberry, how much more so of many of our aromatic 
rubies of to-day. 

John Parkinson, the apothecary- gardener of London, whose quaint 
work was published in 1629, is not so enthusiastic. He says of the wild 
strawberry : " It may be eaten or chewed in the mouth without any man- 
ner of offense ; it is no great bearer, but those it doth beare are set at the 
toppes of the stalks, close together, pleasant to behold, and fit for a Gen- 
tlewoman to wear on her arme, &c., as a raritie instead of a flower." 

In England, the strawberry leaf is part of the insignia of hign rank, 
since it appears in the coronets of a duke, marquis and earl. "He 
aspires to the strawberry leaves " is a well-known phrase abroad, and the 
idea occurs several times in the novels of Disraeli, the present British 
Premier. Thackeray, in his "Book of Snobs," writes: "The strawberry 
leaves on her chariot panels are engraved on her ladyship's heart." 

After all, perhaps it is not strange that the Alpine species should be 
allied to some dark memories, for it was the only kind known when the 
age was darkened by passion and crime. 

The one other allusion to the strawberry in Shakspeare is peculiarly 
appropriate to the species under consideration. In the play of Henry V., 
an earlier Bishop of Ely says : 

" The strawberry grows underneath the nettle, 
And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best 
Neighbored by fruit of baser quality." 

And this, probably, is still true, for the Alpine and Wood strawberries 
tend to reproduce themselves with such unvarying exactness that cultiva- 
tion makes but little difference. 

All these allusions apply to the F. Vesca or Alpine species, and 
little advance was made in strawberry culture in Europe until after the 
introduction of other species more capable of variation and improvement. , 
Still, attempts were made from time to time. As the Alpine differed 
somewhat from the Wood strawberry, they were brought to England 
about 200 years later than the tragedy of Lord Hastings' death, which has 
been referred to. 

In connection with the White and Red Wood and Alpine straw- 
berries, we find in 1623 the name of the HautboiS or Haarbeer straw- 
berry, the Fragaria elatior of the botanists. This second species, a native 



Strawberries — Origin and History. 



39 




Hautbois or Haarbeer Strawberry (Fragaria Elatior). 



of Germany, resembles the Alpine in some respects, but is a larger and 
stockier plant. Like the fragaria vesca, its fruit-stalks are erect and 
longer than the leaves, but the latter are larger than the foliage of the 
Alpine, and are covered with short 
hairs, both on the upper and 
under surface, which give them a 
rough appearance. As far as I 
can learn, this species still further 
resembled the Alpines in pos- 
sessing little capability of im- 
provement and variation. Even 
at this late day the various named 
kinds are said to differ from each 
other but slightly. There is a 
very marked contrast, however, 
between the fruit of the Hautbois and Alpine species, for the former has a 
peculiar musky flavor which has never found much favor in this country. 
It is, therefore, a comparatively rare fruit in our gardens, nor do we find 
much said of it in the past. 

There is scarcely any record of progress until after the introduction of 
the two great American species. It is true that in 1660 a fruit grower at 
Montreuil, France, is " said to have produced a new variety from the 
seed of the Wood strawberry," which was called " the Cappron," and 
afterward the " Fressant." It was named as a distinct variety 100 years 
later, but it may be doubted whether it differed greatly from its parent. 
Be this as it may, it is said to be the first improved variety of which 
there is any record. 

Early in the 17th centuiy, intercourse with this continent led to the 

introduction of the most valuable 
species in existence, the VIRGIN- 
IAN strawberry (Fragaria Virgin- 
iana), which grows wild from the 
Arctic regions to Florida, and 
westward to the Rocky Mount- 
ains. It is first named in the 
catalogue of Jean Robin, botanist 
to Louis XIII., in 1624. During 
the first century of its career in 
England, it was not appreciated, 

Common WM?,tr2i^wheTTY( Fragaria Virginiana). but as itS WOnderful Capacity for 




40 Sticcess with Small Fruits. 

variation and improvement — in which it formed so marked a contrast to 
the Wood strawberry — was discovered, it began to receive the attention it 
deserved. Enghsh gardeners learned the fact, of which we are making so 
much to-day, that by simply sowing its seeds, new and possibly better 
varieties could be produced. From that time and forward, the tendency 
has increased to originate, name and send out innumerable seedlings, the 
majority of which soon pass into oblivion, while a few survive and become 
popular, usually in proportion to their merit. 

The Fragaria Virginiana, therefore, the common wild strawberry that 
is found in all parts of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, is the 
parent of nine-tenths of the varieties grown in our gardens ; and its 
improved descendants furnish nearly all of the strawberries of our markets. 
As we have seen, the Fragaria Vesca, or the Alpine species of Europe, is 
substantially the same to-day as it was a thousand years ago. But the 
capacity of the Virginian strawberry for change and improvement is shown 
by those great landmarks in the American culture of this fruit — the pro- 
duction of Hovey's Seedling by C. M. Hovey, of Cambridge, Mass., forty- 
five years since ; of the Wilson's Albany Seedling, originated by John Wil- 
son, of Albany, N. Y., about twenty-five years ago, and, in our own time, 
of the superb varieties. Monarch of the West, Seth Boyden, Charles 
Downing, and Sharpless. 

As in the Alpine species there are two distinct strains, — the Alpine of 
the Continent, and the Wood strawberry of England, — so in the wild Vir- 
ginian species there are two branches of the family, — the Eastern and 
the Western. The differences are so marked that some writers have 
asserted that there are two species ; but we have the authority of Prof 
Gray for saying that the Western, or Fragaria Illincensis, is "perhaps" a 
distinct species, and he classifies it as only a very marked variety. 

There are but two more species of the strawberry genus. Of the first 
of these, the Fragaria Indica, or Indian strawberry, there is little to say. 
It is a native of Northern India, and differs so much from the other species 
that it was formerly named as a distinct genus. It has yellow flowers, and 
is a showy house-plant, especially for window-baskets, but the fruit is dry, 
and tasteless. It is said by Prof Gray to have escaped cultivation and 
become wild in some localities of this country. 

Fragaria Chilensis is the last great species or subdivision that we now 
have to consider. Like the F. Virginiana, it is a native of the American 
continent, and yet we have learned to associate it almost wholly with 
Europe. It grows wild on the Pacific slope, from Oregon to Chili, creep- 
ing higher and higher up the mountains as its habitat approaches the 



Strawber7'ies — Origin and History. 



41 





Indian Strawberry (Fiagai'ia Liduu^. 



/^=^ 



rm 








'equator. " It is a large, robust species, 
with very firm, thick leaflets, soft and 
silky on the under side." The flowers are 
larger than in the other species ; the fruit, also, in 
its native condition, averages much larger, stands 
erect instead of hanging, ripens late, is rose- 
^"' colored, firm and sweet in flesh, and does not 
require as much heat to develop its saccharine 
constituents ; but it lacks the peculiar sprightliness and aroma 
of the Virginia strawberry. It has become, however, the favorite stock of 
the European gardeners, and seems better adapted to transatlantic 
climate and soil than to ours. The first mention of the Fragaria CJiilensis, 
or South American strawberry, says Mr. Fuller, " is by M. Frezier, who, 
in 1 7 16, in his journey to the South Sea, found it at the foot of the 
Cordillera mountains near Quito, and carried it home to Marseilles, 
France." At that time it was called the Chili strawberry, and the 
Spaniards said that tiiey brought it from Mexico. 

From Mr. W. Collett Sandars, an English antiquarian, I learn that seven 
plants were shipped from Chili and were kept alive during the voyage by 
water which M. Frezier saved 
from his allowance, much limited 
owing to a shortness of supply. ' 
He gave two of the plants to M. 
de Jessieu, " who cultivated them 
with fair success in the royal gar- 
dens." In 1727, the Chili straw- 
berry was introduced to England, 
but not being understood, it did 
not win much favor. 

Mr. Fuller further states : "We 
do not learn from any of the old French works that new varieties were 
raised from the Chili strawberry for at least fifty years after its introduc- 
6 







Fragraria Chilensis. 



42 Success with Small Fruits. 

tion. Duchesne, in 1766, says that "Miller considered its cultivation, 
abandoned in England on account of its sterility. The importations from 
other portions of South America appear to have met with better success ; 
and, early in the present century, new varieties of the F. Ckilensis, as 
well as of the Virginiana, became quite abundant in England and on the 
Continent." 

If we may judge from the characteristics of the varieties imported to 
this country of late years, the South American species has taken the lead 
decidedly abroad, and has become the parent stock from which foreign cult- 
urists, in the main, are seeking to develop the ideal strawberry. But in all 
its transformations, and after all the attempts to infuse into it the sturdier 
life of the Virginian strawberry, it still remembers its birthplace ; and 
falters and often dies in the severe cold of our winters, or, what is still 
worse, the heat and drouth of our summers. As a species, it requires the 
high and careful culture that they are able and willing to give it in Europe. 
The majority of imported varieties have failed in the United States, but a 
few have become justly popular in regions where they can be grown. The 
Triomphe de Gand may be given as an example, and were I restricted to 
one variety I should take this. The Jucunda, also, is one of the most 
superb berries in existence ; and can be grown with great profit in many 
localities. 

Thus the two great species which to-day are furnishing ninety-nine- 
hundredths of the strawberries of commerce and of the garden, both in 
this country and abroad, came from America, the Fragaria Ckilensis 
reaching our Eastern States by the way of Europe, and in the form of 
the improved and cultivated varieties that have won a name abroad. 
We are crossing the importations with our own native stock. President 
Wilder's superb seedling, which has received his name, is an example of this 
blending process. This berry is a child of the La Constante and Hovey's 
Seedling, and, therefore, in this one beautiful and most delicious variety 
we have united the characteristics of the two chief strawberry species 
of the world, the F. Virginiana and F. Ckilensis. 

It will be seen that the great law of race extends even to strawberry 
plants. As in the most refined and cultivated peoples there is a strain of 
the old native stock, which ever remains a source of weakness or strength, 
and will surely show itself in certain emergencies, so the superb new 
varieties of strawberries, the latest products of horticultural skill, speedily 
indicate in the rough-and-tumble of ordinary culture whether they have 
derived their life from the hardy F. Virginiana or the tender and fas- 
tidious F. Ckile7isis. The Monarch of the West and the Jucunda are the 



Strawba^ries — Ot'igin and History. 43 

patricians of the garden, and on the heavy portions of my land at Corn- 
wall I can scarcely say to which I give the preference. But the Monarch 
is Anglo-Saxon and the Jucunda is of a Latin race ; or to drop meta- 
phor, the former comes of a species that can adapt itself to conditions 
extremely varied, and even very unfavorable, and the latter cannot. 



CHAPTER V. 



IDEAL STRAWBERRIES VERSUS THOSE OF THE FIELD AND MARKET. 



THERE are certain strong, coarse-feeding vegetables, like corn and 
potatoes, that can be grown on the half-subdued and comparatit^ely 
poor soil of the field ; .but no gardener would think of planting the finer 
and more delicate sorts in such situations. There are but few who do 
not know that they can raise cauliflowers and egg-plants only on deep, 
rich land. The parallel holds good with this fruit. There are straw- 
berries that will grow almost anywhere, and under any circumstances, 
and there is another class that demands the best ground and culture ; 
but from the soil of a good garden, with a little pains, we can obtain 
the finest fruit in existence, and there is no occasion to plant those 
kinds which are grown for market solely because they are productive, 
and hard enough to endure carriage for a long distance. The only 
transportation to be considered is from the garden to the table, and there- 
fore we can make table qualities our chief concern. If our soil is light 
and sandy, we can raise successfully one class of choice, high-flavored 
varieties ; if heavy, another class. Many worry over a forlorn, weedy 
bed of some inferior variety that scarcely gives a week's supply, when, 
with no more trouble than is required to obtain a crop of celery, large 
delicious berries might be enjoyed daily, for six weeks together, from 
twenty different kinds. 

The strawberry of commerce is a much more difiicult problem. The 
present unsatisfactory condition of affairs was admirably expressed in the 



Ideal and Market Strawberries. 45 

following editorial in the Evening Post, the 1 2th June, 1876, from the pen 
of the late William Cullen Bryant; 

STRAWBERRIES. 

" In general, an improvement has been observed of late in the quality of fruit. 
We have more and finer varieties of the apple ; the pear is much better in general 
than it was ten years since ; of the grape there are many new and excellent 
varieties which the market knew nothing of a few years ago, and there are some 
excellent varieties of the raspberry lately introduced. But the strawberry has 
decidedly deteriorated, and the result is owing to the general culture of Wilson's 
Albany for the market. Wilson's Albany is a sour, crude berry, which is not fully 
ripe when it is perfectly red, and even when perfectly ripe is still too acid. When 
it first makes its appearance in the market, it has an exceedingly harsh flavor and 
very little of the agreeable aroma which distinguishes the finer kinds of the berry. 
If not eaten very sparingly, it disagrees with the stomach, and you wake with a 
colic the next morning. Before Wilson's strawberry came into vogue, there were 
many other kinds which were sweeter and of a more agreeable flavor. But the 
Wilson is a hard berry, which bears transportation well ; it is exceedingly prolific 
and altogether hardy — qualities which give it great favor with the cultivator, but 
for which the consumer suffers. The proper way of dealing in strawberries is to 
fix the prices according to the quality of the sort. This is the way they do in the 
markets of Paris. A poor sort, although the berry may be large, is sold cheap ; 
the more delicate kinds — the sweet, juicy and high-flavored — are disposed of at 
a higher price. Here the Wilson should be sold the cheapest of all, while such 
as the Jucunda and the President Wilder should bear a price corresponding to 
their excellence. We hope, for our part, that the Wilsons will, as soon as their 
place can be supplied by a better iDerry, be banished from the market. It can 
surely be no difficult thing to obtain a sort by crossing, which shall bear transpor- 
tation equally well, and shall not deceive the purchaser with the appearance of 
ripeness." 

The reader will perceive that Mr. Bryant has portrayed both the evil 
and the remedy. The public justly complains of the strawberry of 
commerce, but it has not followed the suggestion in the editorial and 
demanded a better article, even though it must be furnished at a higher 
price. 

In spite, however, of all that is said and written annually against the 
Wilson, it still maintains its supremacy as the market berry. Those who 
reside near the city and can make, to some extent, special arrangements 
with enlightened customers, find other varieties more profitable, even 
though the yield from them is less, and some are lost from lack of 
keeping qualities. But those who send from a considerable distance, and 
must take their chances in the general market, persist in raising the 
"sour, crude berry," which is red before it is ripe, and hard enough to 



46 Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

stand the rough usage which it is almost certain to receive from the hands 
through which it passes. I do not expect to see the day when the 
Wilson, or some berry like it, is not the staple supply of the market ; 
although I hope and think it will be improved upon. But let it be 
understood generally that they are Wilsons — the cheap vin ordinaire of 
strawberries. Cities will ever be flooded with varieties that anybody can 
grow under almost any kind of culture ; and no doubt it is better that 
there should be an abundance of such fruit rather than none at all. But 
a delicately organized man, like Mr. Bryant, cannot eat them ; and those 
who have enjoyed the genuine strawberries of the garden will not. The 
number of people, however, with the digestion of an ostrich, is enormous, 
and in multitudes of homes Wilsons, even when half-ripe, musty and 
stale, are devoured with unalloyed delight, under the illusion that they 
are strawberries. 

If genuine strawberries are wanted, the purchaser must demand them, 
pay for them, and refuse "sour, crude berries." The remedy is solely in 
the hands of the consumers. If people would pay no more for Seckel 
than for Choke pears. Choke pears would be the only ones in market, for 
they can be furnished with the least cost and trouble. It is the lack of 
discrimination that leaves our markets so bare of fine-flavored fruit. 
What the grower and the grocer are seeking is a hard berry, which, if not 
sold speedily, will " keep over." Let citizens clearly recognize the truth 
— that there are superb, delicious berries, like the Triomphe, Monarch, 
Charles Downing, Boyden, and many others, and insist on being supplied 
with them, just as they insist on good butter and good meats, and the 
problem is solved. The demand wdll create the supply ; the fruit 
merchant will write to his country correspondents : " You must send 
fine-flavored berries. My trade will not take any others, and I can return 
you more money for half the quantity of fruit if it is good." The most 
stolid of growers would soon take such a hint. Moreover, let the patrons 
of high-priced hotels and restaurants indignantly order away " sour, crude 
berries," as they would any other inferior viand, and caterers would then 
cease to palm ofi" Wilsons for first-class strawberries. If these suggestions 
were carried out generally, the character of the New- York strawberry 
market would speedily be changed. It is my impression that, within a 
few years, only those who are able to raise large, fine-flavored fruit will 
secure very profitable returns. Moreover, we are in a transition state in 
respect to varieties, and there are scores of new kinds just coming before 
the public, of which wonderful things are claimed. I shall test nearly a 
hundred of these during the coming season, but am satisfied in advance 



Ideal and Market Straivberries. 



47 



that nine-tenths of them will be discarded within a brief period. Indeed, 
I doubt whether the ideal strawberry, that shall concentrate every excel- 
lence within its one juicy sphere, ever will be discovered or originated. 
We shall always have to make a choice, as we do in friends, for their 
several good qualities and their power to please our individual tastes. 




The Strawberry of Memory. 

There is, however, one perfect strawberry in existence, — the straw- 
berry of memory, — the little wildlings that we gathered, perhaps, with 
those over whom the wild strawberry is now growing. We will admit no 
fault in it, and, although we may no longer seek for this favorite fruit of 
our childhood, with the finest specimens of the garden before us we sigh 
for those berries that grew on some far-off hill-side in years still farther 
away, 



CHAPTER VI. 



CHOICE OF SOIL AND LOCATION. 



THE choice that Tobias Hobson imposed on his patrons when he 
compelled them to take "the horse nearest to the stable-door" or 
none at all, is one that, in principle, we often have to make in selecting 
our strawberry-ground. We must use such as we have, or raise no 
berries. And yet it has been said that " with no other fruit do soil and 
locality make so great differences." While I am inclined to think that this 
is truer of the raspberry, it is also thoroughly established that location and 
the native qualities of the soil are among the first and chief considerations 
in working out the problem of success with strawberries. 

Especially should such forethought be given in selecting a soil suited 
to the varieties we wish to raise. Dr. Thurber, editor American Agri- 
culturist, states this truth emphatically. In August, 1875, he wrote: 
" All talk about strawberries must be with reference to particular soils. 
As an illustration of this, there were exhibited in our office windows 
several successive lots of the ' Monarch of the West,' which were immense 
as to size and wonderful as to productiveness. This same ' Monarch ' 
behaved in so unkingly a manner on our grounds (very light and sandy 
in their nature) that he would have been deposed had we not seen these 
berries, for it was quite inferior to either ' Charles Downing,' ' Seth 
Boyden,' or ' Kentucky.'" 

It is a generally admitted fact that the very best soil, and the one 
adapted to the largest number of varieties, is a deep sandy loam, moist, 

48 



Strawberries — Soil — Location. 



49 



but not wet, in its natural state. All the kinds with which I am acquainted 
will do well on such land if it is properly deepened and enriched. There- 
fore, we should select such ground if we have it on our places, and those 
proposing to buy land with a view to this industry would do well to secure 
from the start one of the best conditions of success. 

It is of vital importance that our strawberry fields be near good ship- 
ping facilities, and that there be sufficient population in the immediate 
vicinity to furnish pickers in abundance. It will be far better to pay a 
much higher price for land — even inferior land — near a village and a rail- 
road depot, than to attempt to grow these perishable fruits in regions too 
remote. A water communication with market is, of course, preferable to 
any other. Having considered the question of harvesting and shipping to 
market, then obtain the moist, loamy land described above, if possible. 

Such ground will make just as generous and satisfactory returns in the 
home garden, and by developing its best capabilities the amateur can 
attain results that will delight his heart and amaze his neighbors. 

Shall the fact that we have no such soil, and cannot obtain it, dis- 
courage us ? Not at all ! There are choice varieties that will grow in the 
extremes of sand or clay. More effort will be required, but skill and 
information can still secure success ; and advantages of location, climate, 
and nearness to good markets may more than counterbalance natural 
deficiencies in the land. Besides, there is almost as solid a satisfaction in 
transforming a bit of the wilderness into a garden as in reforming and 
educating a crude or evil specimen of humanity. Therefore, if one finds 
himself in an unfavorable climate, and shut up to the choice of land the 
reverse of a deep, moist, sandy loam, let him pit his brain and muscle 
against all obstacles. 

If the question were asked. Is there anything that comes from the 
garden better liked than a dish of strawberries? in nine instances out of 
ten the answer would be, " nothing," even though sour Wilsons were 
grown ; and yet, too often the bed is in a neglected corner and half 
shaded by trees, while strong-growing vegetables occupy the moist, 
open spaces. It is hardly rational to put the favorite of the garden 
where, at best, a partial failure is certain. Let it be well understood 
that strawberries cannot be made to do well on ground exhausted by 
the roots and covered by the shade of trees. 

On many farms and even in some gardens there are several varieties 
of soil. Within the area of an acre I have a sandy loam, a gravelly hill- 
side, low, black, alluvial land, and a very stiff, cold, wet clay. Such 
diversity does not often occur within so limited a space, but on multi- 
7 



50 Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

tudes of places corresponding differences exist. In such instances, 
conditions suited to every variety can be found, and reading and 
experience will teach the cultivator to locate his several kinds just 
where they will give the best results. Moreover, by placing early kinds 
on warm, sunny slopes, and giving late varieties moist, heavy land and 
cool, northern exposures, the season of this delicious fruit can be pro- 
longed greatly. The advantage of a long-continued supply for the 
family is obvious, but it is often even more important to those whose 
income is dependent on this industry. It frequently occurs that the 
market is "glutted" with berries for a brief time in the height of 
the season. If the crop matures in the main at such a time, the one 
chance of the year passes, leaving but a small margin of profit ; whereas, 
if the grower had prolonged his season, by a careful selection of soils 
as well as of varieties, he might sell a large portion of his fruit when it 
was scarce and high. 

Climate also is a very important consideration, and enters largely 
into the problem of success from Maine to Southern California. Each 
region has its advantages and* disadvantages, and these should be esti- 
mated before the purchaser takes the final steps which commit him to 
a locality and methods of culture which may not prove to his taste. 
In the far North, sheltered situations and light, warm land should be 
chosen for the main crop ; but in our latitude, and southward, it should 
always be our aim to avoid that hardness and dryness of soil that cut 
short the crops and hopes of so many cultivators. 



CHAPTER VII. 



PREPARING AND ENRICHING THE SOIL. 



HAVING from choice or necessity decided on the ground on which 
our future strawberries are to grow, the next step is to prepare 
the soil. The first and most natural question will be, What is the 
chief need of this plant ? Many prepare their ground in a vague, 
indefinite way. Let us prepare for strawberries. 

Whether it grows North or South, East or West, the strawberry 
plant is the same, and has certain constitutional traits and requirements, 
which should be thoroughly fixed in our minds. Modifications of treat- 
ment made necessary by various soils and climates are then not only 
easily learned but also easily understood. 

When asked, on one occasion, what was the chief requirement in 
successful strawberry culture, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder replied substan- 
tially in the following piquant manner : 

" In the first place, the strawberry's chief need is a great deal of 
water." 

" In the second place, it needs more water." 

" In the third place, I think I would give it a great deal more 
water." 

The more extended and full my experience becomes, the less exag- 
geration I find in his words. The following strong confirmation of 
President Wilder's opinion may be found in Thompson's Gardener's 
Assistant, a standard English work : 



52 Success with Small Fruits. 

" Ground that is apt to get very dry from the effects of only ten days' or 
a fortnight's drought is not suitable, on account of the enormous quantity of water 
that will be necessary ; and if once the plants begin to flag for want of moisture, 
the crop is all but lost. A soil that is naturally somewhat moist, but not too wet, 
answers well ; and where the land has admitted of irrigation, we have seen heavy 
crops produced every year." 

If this be true in England, with its humid climate, how much more 
emphatically should we state the importance of this requirement in our 
land of long droughts and scorching'- suns. 

Moisture, then, is the strawberry's first and chief need. Without it, 
the best fertilizers become injurious rather than helpful. Therefore, 
in the preparation of the soil and its subsequent cultivation, there should 
be a constant effort to secure and maintain moisture, and the failure to 
do this is the chief cause of meager crops. And yet, very probably, the 
first step absolutely necessary to accomplish this will be a thorough 
system of underdrainage. I have spent hundreds of dollars in such labors, 
and it was as truly my object to enable the ground to endure drought 
as to escape undue wetness. Let it be understood that it is moist and 
not zaet land that the strawberry requires. If water stands or stagnates 
upon or a little below the surface, the soil becomes sour, heavy, lifeless ; 
and, if clay is present, it will bake like pottery in dry weather and suggest 
the Slough of Despond in wet. Disappointment, failure and miasma are 
the certain products of such unregenerate regions, but, as is often the case 
with repressed and troublesome people, the evil traits of such soils result 
from a lack of balance, and a perversion of what is good. 

The underdrain restores the proper equilibrium ; the brush-hook and 
axe cut away the rank unwholesome growth which thrives best in abnor- 
mal conditions. Sun, air and purifying frosts mellow and sweeten the 
damp, heavy, malarious ground, as the plowshare lifts it out of its low 
estate. A swamp, or any approach to one, is like a New York tenement 
house district, and requires analogous treatment. 

If, however, we have mellow upland with natural drainage, let us first 
put that in order that we may have a remunerative crop as soon as possi- 
ble. In suggesting, therefore, the best methods of preparing and enriching 
the ground, I will begin by considering soils that are already in the most 
favorable conditions, and that require the least labor and outlay. Man 
received his most essential agricultural instruction in the opening chapter 
of Genesis, wherein he is commanded to " subdue the earth." Even the 
mellow Western prairie is at first a wild, untamed thing that must be 
subdued. This is often a simple process, and in our gardens and the 



Preparing and Enriching the Soil. 53 

greater part of many farms has already been practically accomplished. 
Where the deep, moist loam, just described, exists, the fortunate owner 
has only to turn it up to the sun and give it a year of ordinary cultivation, 
taking from it, in the process, some profitable hoed crop, that will effect- 
ually kill the grass, and his land is ready for strawberries. If his ground 
is in condition to give a good crop of corn, it will also give a fair crop 
of berries. If the garden is so far " subdued" as to yield kitchen 
vegetables, the strawberry may be planted at once, with the prospect of 
excellent returns, unless proper culture is neglected. 

Should the reader be content with mediocrity, there is scarcely any- 
thing to be said where the conditions are so favorable. But suppose one is 
not content with mediocrity. Then this highly favored soil is but the vant- 
age-ground from which skill enters on a course of thorough preparation and 
high culture. A man may plow, harrow and set with strawberries the 
land that was planted the previous year in corn, and probably secure a 
remunerative return, with little more trouble or cost than was expended on 
the corn. Or, he may select half the area that was in corn, plow it deeply 
in October, and if he detects traces of the white grub, cross-plow it again 
just as the ground is beginning to freeze. Early in the spring he can cover 
the surface with some fertilizer — there is nothing better than a rotted com- 
post of muck and barn-yard manure — at the proportion of forty or fifty 
tons to the acre. Plow and cross-plow again, and in each instance let the first 
team be followed by a subsoil or lifting plow, which stirs and loosens the 
substratum without bringing it to the surface. The half of the field pre- 
pared in such a thorough manner will probably yield three times the 
amount of fruit that could be gathered from the whole area under ordinary 
treatment, and if the right varieties are grown, and a good market is within 
reach, the money received will be in a higher ratio. 

The principle of generous and thorough preparation may be carried 
still further in the garden, and its soil, already rich and mellow, may be 
covered to the depth of several inches with well-rotted compost or any form 
of barn-yard manure that is not too coarse and full of heat, and this may be 
incorporated with the earth by trenching to the depth of two feet. Of this 
be certain : the strawberry roots will go as deeply as the soil is prepared 
and enriched for them, and the results in abundant and enormous fruit will 
be commensurate. English gardeners advise trenching even to the depth 
of three feet, where the ground permits it. 

Few soils can be found so deep and rich by nature that they cannot be 
improved by art ; and the question for each to decide is, how far the returns 
will compensate for extra preparation. Very often land for strawberries 



54 Success with Small Fruits. 

receives but little more preparation than for wheat, and such methods 
must pay or they would not be continued. Many who follow these 
methods declare that they are the most profitable in the long run. I 
doubt it. 

If our market is one in which strawberries are sold simply as such, 
without much regard to flavor or size, there is not the same inducement to 
produce fine fruit. But even when quantity is the chief object, deeply 
prepared and enriched land retains that essential moisture of which we 
have spoken, and enables the plant not only to form, but also to develop 
and mature, a great deal of fruit. In the majority of markets, however, 
each year, size and beauty count for more, and these qualities can be 
secured, even from a favorable soil, only after thorough preparation and 
enriching. I find that every writer of experience on this subject, both 
American and European, insists vigorously on the value of such careful 
pulverization and deepening of the soil. 

Having thus considered the most favorable land in the best condition 
possible, under ordinary cultivation, I shall now treat of that less suitable, 
until we finally reach a soil too sterile and hopelessly bad to repay cultiva- 
tion. 

I will speak first of this same deep, moist loam, in its unsubdued 
condition ; that is, in stiff sod, trees or brush-wood. Of course, the latter 
must be removed, and, as a rule, the crops on new land — which has 
been undisturbed by the plow for a number of years, and, perhaps, never 
robbed of its original fertility — will amply repay for the extra labor of 
clearing. Especially will this be the case if the brush and rubbish are 
burned evenly over the surface. The finest of wild strawberries are 
found where trees have been felled and the brush burned ; and the 
successful fruit grower is the one who makes the best use of such hints 
from nature. 

The field would look better and the cultivation be easier if all the 
stumps could be removed before planting, but this might involve too 
great preliminary expense, and I always counsel against debt except in 
the direst necessity. A little brush burned on each stump will effectually 
check new growth, and, in two or three years, these unsightly objects will 
be so rotten that they can be pried out, and easily turned into ashes, one 
of the best of fertilizers. In the meantime, the native strength of the 
land will cause a growth which will compensate for the partial lack of 
deep and thorough cultivation which the stumps and roots prevent. 
Those who have traveled West and South have seen fine crops of corn 
growing among the half-burned stumps, and strawberries will do as well. 



Preparing and Enriching the Soil. 55 

But where trees or brush have grown very thickly, the roots and 
stumps must be eradicated. The thick growth on the sandy land of 
Florida is grubbed out at the cost of about $30 per acre, and I know of a 
gentleman who pays at the rate of $25 per acre in the vicinity of Norfolk, 
Va. I doubt whether it can be done for less elsewhere. 

In some regions they employ a stump extractor, a rude but strong 
machine, worked by blocks and pulleys, with oxen as motor power. From 
the Farmer s Advocate of London, Ont., I learn that an expert with one of 
these machines, aided by five men and two yoke of oxen, was in the 
habit of clearing fifty acres annually. 

I have cleaned hedge-rows and stony spots on my place in the follow- 
ing thorough manner : A man commences with pick and shovel on one 
side of the land and turns it steadily and completely over by hand to the 
depth of fourteen to eighteen inches, throwing on the surface behind him 
all the roots, stumps and stones, and stopping occasionally to blast when 
the rocks are too large to be pried out. This, of course, is expensive, and 
cannot be largely indulged in ; but, when accomplished, the work is done 
for all time, and I have obtained at once by this method some splendid 
soil, in which the plow sinks to the beam. A drought must be severe, 
indeed, that can injure such land. 

There is a great difference in men in the performance of this work. I 
have one who, within a reasonable time, would trench a farm. Indeed, 
in his power to obey the primal command to " subdue the earth," my 
man, Abraham, is a hero ; although, I imagine, he scarcely knows what 
the word means, and would as soon think of himself as a hippopotamus. 
His fortunes would often seem as dark as himself to those who " take 
thought for the morrow," and that is saying much, for Abraham is " col- 
ored " as far as man can be. 

I doubt whether his foresight often reaches further than bed-time, and 
to that hour he comes with an honest right to rest. He is a family man, 
and has six or seven children, under eight years of age, whom he shelters 
in a wretched little house, that appears tired of standing up. But to and 
from this abode Abraham passes daily, with a face as serene as a May 
morning. In that weary old hovel I am satisfied that he and his swarm- 
ing little brood have found what no architect can build — a home. Thither 
he carries his diurnal dollar, when he can get it, and on it they all manage 
to live and grow fat. He loses time occasionally, it is true, through illness, 
but no such trifling misfortune can induce him, seemingly, to take a long, 
anxious look into the future. Only once — it was last winter — have I 
seen him dismayed by the frowning fates. The doctor thought his wife 



56 



Success with Small Fruits. 



would die, and they had nothing to eat in the house. When Abraham 
appeared before me at that time, his " countenance was fallen," as the 
quaint, strong language of Scripture expresses it. He made no com- 
plaints, however, and indulged in no Byronic allusions to destiny. Indeed, 
he said very little, but merely drooped and cowered, as if the wolf at the 
door and the shadow of death within it were rather more than he could 
face at one and the same time. It soon became evident, however, that his 
wife would "pull through," as he said, and then the wolf did n't trouble 
him a mite. He installed himself as cook, nurse, and house man-of-all- 
work, finding also abundant leisure to smoke his pipe with infinite content. 
One morning he was seen baking buckwheat cakes for the children ; each 
one in turn received an allowance on a tin plate, and squatted here and 
there on the floor to devour it ; and, from the master of ceremonies down, 
there was not an indication that all was not just as it should be. A few 
days later, I met him coming back to his work with his pipe in the corner 




The Champion Grubber. 

of his mouth, and the old confident twinkle in his eye as he said, "Mornin", 
Bossie." Now, Abraham carries his peculiar characteristics into grubbing. 
If I should set him at a hundred-acre field full of stumps and stones, and 



Preparing and Enriching the Soil. 57 

tell him to clear it to the depth of two feet, he would begin without any- 
apparent misgiving, and with no more thought for the magnitude of 
his task than he has for the tangled and stubborn mysteries of life in gen- 
eral, or the dubious question of " what shall be on the morrow " in his 
own experience. He would see only the little strip that he proposed to 
clear up that day, and would go to work in a way all his own. 

Although not talkative to other people, he is very social with himself, 
and, in the early days of our acquaintance, I was constantly misled into 
the belief that somebody was with him, and that he was a man of words 
rather than work. As soon, however, as I reached a point from which 
I could see him, there he would be alone, bending to his task with the 
steady persistence that makes his labor so effective ; but, at the same 
time, until he saw me, he would continue discussing with equal vigor 
whatever subject might be uppermost in his mind. I suppose he scarcely 
ever takes out a stone or root without apostrophizing, adjuring and 
berating it in tones and vernacular so queer that one might imagine he 
hoped to remove the refractory object by magic rather than by muscle. 
When the sun is setting, however, and Abraham has complacently 
advised himself — " better quit, for de night 's done gone, and de ole 
woman is arter me, afeard I 've kivered myself up a-grubbin','' — one 
thing is always evident — a great many stones and roots are "unkivered," 
and Abraham has earned anew his right to the title of champion grubber. 

But, as most men handle the pick and shovel, the fruit grower must 
be chary in his attempts to subdue the earth with these old-time imple- 
ments. It is too much like making war with the ancient Roman short 
sword in an age of rifled guns. I agree with that practical horticulturist, 
Peter Henderson, that there are no implements equal to the plow and 
subsoiler, and, in our broad and half-occupied country, we should be 
rather shy of land where these cannot be used. 

The cultivator whose deep moist loam, is covered by sod only, instead 
of rocks, brush, and trees, may feel like congratulating himself on the easy 
task before him ; and, indeed, where the sod is light, strawberries, and 
especially the larger small fruits, are often planted on it at once with fair 
success. I do not recommend the practice ; for, unless the subsequent 
culture is very thorough and frequent, the grass roots will continue to 
grow and may become so intertwined with those of the strawberry that 
they cannot be separated. Corn is probably the best hoed crop to 
precede the strawberry. Potatoes too closely resemble this fruit in their 
demand for potash, and exhaust the soil of one of the most needed 
elements. A dressing of wood ashes, however, will make good the loss. 
8 



58 Success with Small Fruits. 

Buckwheat is one of the most effective means of subduing and cleaning 
land, and two crops can be plowed under in a single summer. Last spring 
I had some very stiff marsh sod turned over and sown with buckwheat, 
which, in our hurry, Avas not plowed under until considerable of the seed 
ripened and fell. A second crop from this came up at once, and was 
plowed under when coming into blossom, as the first should have been. 
The straw, in its succulent state, decayed in a few days, and by autumn 
my rough marsh sod was light, rich and mellow as a garden, ready for 
anything. 

If it should happen that the land designed for strawberries was in clover, 
it would make an admirable fertilizer if turned under while still green, and 
I think its use for this purpose would pay better than cutting it for hay, 
even though there is no better. Indeed, were I about to put any sod 
land, that was not very stiff and unsubdued, into small fruits, I would wait 
till whatever herbage covered the ground was just coming into flower, and 
then turn it under. The earlier growth that precedes the formation of 
seed does not tax the soil much, but draws its substance largely from the 
atmosphere, and when returned to the earth while full of juices, is valuable. 
In our latitude, this can usually be done by the middle of June, and if on 
this sod buckwheat is sown at once, it will hasten the decay, loosen and 
lighten the soil in its growth, and in a few weeks be ready itself to increase 
the fertility of the field by being plowed under. In regions where farm- 
yard manure and other fertilizers are scarce and high, this plowing under 
of green crops is one of the most effective ways both of enriching and pre- 
paring the land ; and if the reader has no severer labors to perform than 
this, he may well congratulate himself 

But let him not be premature in his self-felicitation, for he may find in 
his sod ground, especially if it be old meadow land, an obstacle worse than 
stumps and stones — the Lachnosterna fusca. 

This portentous name may well inspire dread, for the thing itself can 
realize one's worst fears. The deep, moist loam which we are considering 
is the favorite haunt of this hateful little monster, and he who does not find 
it lying in wait when turning up land that has been long in sod, may deem 
himself lucky. The reader need not draw a sigh of relief when I tell him 
that I mean merely the " white grub," the larva of the May-beetle or June- 
bug, that so disturbs our slumbers in early summer by its sonorous hum 
and aimless bumping against the wall. This white grub, which the farm- 
ers often call the " potato worm," is, in this region, the strawberry's most 
formidable foe, and, by devouring the roots, will often destroy acres of 
plants. If the plow turns up these ugly customers in large numbers, the 



Preparing and EnricJiing the Soil. 59 

only recourse is to cultivate the land with some other crop until they turn 
into beetles and fly away. This enemy will receive fuller attention in a 
later chapter. 

It is said that this pest rarely lays its eggs in plowed land, preferring 
sod ground, where its larvae will be protected from the birds, and will find 
plenty of grass roots on which to feed. Nature sees to it that white grubs 
are taken care of, but our Monarch strawberries need our best skill and 
help in their unequal fight ; and if "■Lachnos " and tribe should turn out in 
force, Alexander himself would be vanquished. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



PREPARATION OF SOIL BY DRAINAGE. 



EXCESSIVE moisture will often prevent the immediate cultivation of 
our ideal strawberry land. Its absence is fatal, its excess equally so. 
Let me suggest some of the evil effects. Every one is aware that climate — 
that is, the average temperature of the atmosphere throughout the year — 
has a most important influence on vegetation. But a great many, I 
imagine, do not realize that there is an underground climate also, and that 
it is scarcely less important that this should be adapted to the roots than 
that the air should be tempered to the foliage. Water-logged land is cold. 
The sun can bake, but not warm it to any extent. Careful English 
experiments have proved that well-drained land is from 10° to 20° 
warmer than wet soils ; and Mr. Parkes has shown, in his " Essay on 
the Philosophy of Drainage," that in " draining the ' Red Moss ' the 
thermometer in the drained land rose in June to 66° at seven inches below 
the surface, while in the neighboring water-logged land it would never 
rise above 47°, an enormous gain." 

In his prize essay on drainage. Dr. Madden confirms the above, and 
explains further, as follows: "An excess of water injures the soil by 
diminishing its temperature in summer and increasing it in winter — a 
transformation of nature most hurtful to perennials, because the vigor of a 
plant in spring depends greatly on the lowness of temperature to which it 
has been subjected during the winter (within certain limits, of course), as 
the difference of temperature between winter and spring is the exciting 



Preparation of Soil by Drainage. 6i 

cause of the ascent of the sap." In other words, too much water in the 
soil may cause no marked difference between the underground cHmate of 
winter and spring. 

Dr. Madden shows, moreover, that excess of water keeps out the air 
essential not only in promoting chemical changes in the soil itself and 
required by the plants, but also the air which is directly needed by the 
roots. Sir H. Davy, and others, have proved that oxygen and carbonic 
acid are absorbed by the roots as well as by the foliage, and these gases 
can be brought to them by the air only. 

Again, drainage alters the currents which occur in wet soil. In 
undrained land, evaporation is constantly bringing up to the roots the sour, 
exhausted water of the subsoil, which is an injury rather than a benefit. 
On the other hand, the rain just fallen passes freel}' through a drained 
soil, carrying directly to the roots fresh air and stimulating gases. 

Wet land also produces conditions which disable the foliage of plants 
from absorbing carbonic acid, thus greatly decreasing its atmospheric 
supply of food. Other reasons might be given, but the reader w^ho is not 
satisfied had better set out an acre of strawberries on water-logged land. 
His empty pocket will out-argue all the books. 

The construction of drains may be essential, for three causes, ist. 
Land that is dry enough naturally, may lie so as to collect and hold sur- 
face water, which, accumulating with every rain and snow storm, at last 
renders the soil sour and unproductive. 2d. Comparatively level land, 
and even steep hill-sides, may be so full of springs as to render drains at 
short intervals necessary. 3d. Streams, flowing perhaps from distant 
sources, may find their natural channel across our grounds. If these 
channels are obstructed or inadequate, we find our land falling into the 
ways of an old soaker. 

It should here be stated, however, that if we could cause streams 
to overflow our land in a shallow, sluggish current, so that a sediment 
would be left on the surface after a speedy subsidence, the result 
would be in miniature like the overflow of the Nile in Egypt, most 
beneficial, that is, if means for thorough subsequent drainage was provided. 

If there is an abundance of stone on one's place suitable for the con- 
struction of drains, they can often be used to advantage, as I shall show ; 
but for all ordinary purposes of drainage, round tile with collars are now 
recommended by the best authorities. It is said that they are cheaper 
than stone, even where the latter is right at hand ; and the claim is 
reasonable, since, instead of the wide ditch required by stone, a narrow 
cut will suffice for tile ; thus, a great saving is at once effected in the cost 



62 



Success zvith Small Fruits. 



of digging. Tile also can be laid rapidly and is not liable to become 
obstructed if properly protected at points of discharge by gratings, so 
that vermin cannot enter. They should not be laid near willow, elm and 
other trees of like character, or else the fibrous roots will penetrate and 
fill the channel. If one has a large problem of drainage to solve, he 
should carefully read a work like Geo. E. Waring's " Draining for Profit 
and for Health " ; and if the slope or fall of some fields is very slight, say 
scarcely one foot in a hundred, the services of an engineer should be 
employed, and accurate grades obtained. By a well-planned system, the 
cost of draining a place can be greatly reduced, and the water made 
very useful. 

On my place at Cornwall I found three acres of wet land, each in turn 
illustrating one of the causes which make drainage necessary. I used 
stone, because, in some instances, no other material would have answered, 
in others partly because I was a novice in the science of drainage, and 
partly because I had the stones on my place, and did not know what else 
to do with them. I certainly could not cart them on my neighbors' 
ground without having a surplus of hot as well as cold water, so I con- 
cluded to bury them in the old-fashioned box-drains. Indeed, I found 
rather peculiar and difficult problems of drainage, and the history of their 
solution may contain useful hints to the reader. 



SCALE OF FEET 




Map Showing Experiments in the Drainage of a Strawberry Farm. 



R.D. Scrvoss N-Y. 



In front of my house there is a low, level plot of land containing about 
three acres. Upon this the surface water ran from all sides, and there was 
no outlet. The soil was, in consequence, sour, and in certain spots only a 
wiry marsh grass would grow. And yet it required but a glance to see 
that a drain, which could carry off this surface water immediately, would 
render it the best land on the place. I tried, in vain, the experiment of 



Preparation of Soil by Drainage. 



63 



digging 
porous 



a deep, wide ditch across the entire tract, in hopes of finding a 
subsoil. Then I excavated great, deep holes, but came to a blue 
clay that held water like rubber. The porous subsoil, 
in which I knew the region abounded, and which makes 
Cornwall exceptionally free from all 
miasmatic troubles, eluded our spades 
like hidden treasures. I eventually 
found that I must ob- 
tain permission of a 
neighbor to carry a 
drain across another 
farm to the mountain 
stream that empties 




The " Seth Boyden " Strawberry.— The Scene of Operations. 



into the Hudson at Cornwall Landing. The covered drain through the 
adjoining place was deep and expensive, but the ditch across my land 



64 Success with Small Fruits. 

(marked A on the map) is a small one, walled with stone on either side. 
It answers my purpose, however, giving me as good strawberry land as I 
could wish. On both sides of this open ditch, and at right angles with it, I 
had the ground plowed up into beds 130 feet long by 21 wide. The 
shallow depressions between these beds slope gently toward the ditch, and 
thus, after every storm, the surface water, which formerly often covered 
the entire area, is at once carried away. I think my simple, shallow, open 
drain is better than tile in this instance. 

As may be seen from the map, my farm is peculiar in outline, and 
resembles an extended city lot, being 2,550 feet long, and only 410 wide. 

The house, as shown by the engraving, stands on quite an ele- 
vation, in the rear of which the land descends into another swale or 
basin. The drainage of this presented a still more difficult problem. 
Not only did the surface water run into it, but in moist seasons 
the ground was full of springs. The serious feature of the case was that 
there seemed to be no available outlet in any direction. Unlike the mellow, 
sand)^ loam in front of the house, the swale in the rear was of the stiffest 
kind of clay — just the soil to retain and be spoiled by water. During the 
first year of our residence here, this region was sometimes a pond, some- 
times a quagmire, while again, under the summer sun, it baked into 
earthenware. It was a doubtful question whether this stubborn acre could 
be subdued, and yet its heavy clay gave me just the diversity of soil I 
needed. Throughout the high gravelly knoll on which the house stands, 
the natural drainage is perfect, and a sagacious neighbor suggested that if 
I cut a ditch across the clayey swale into the gravel of the knoll, the water 
would find a natural outlet and disappear. 

The ditch was dug eight feet wide and five feet deep, for I decided to 
utilize the surface of the drain as a road-bed. Passing out of the clay and 
hard-pan, we came into the gravel, and it seemed porous enough to 
carry off a fair-sized stream. I concluded that my difficult problem had 
found a cheap and easy solution, and, to make assurance doubly sure, I 
directed the men to dig a deep pit and fill it with stones. 

When they had gone about nine feet below the surface, I happened to 
be standing on the brink of the excavation watching the work. A laborer 
struck his pick into the gravel, when a stream gushed out which in its 
sudden abundance suggested that which flowed in the wilderness at the 
stroke of Moses's rod. The problem was now complicated anew. So far 
from finding an outlet, I had dug a well which the men could scarcely bail 
out fast enough to permit of its being stoned up. 

My neighbors remarked that my wide ditch reminded them of the Erie 



Preparation of Soil by Drainage. 65 

canal, and my wife was in terror lest the children should be drowned in it. 
Now something had to be done, and I called in the services of Mr. Cald- 
well, city surveyor of Newburgh, and to his map I refer the reader for a 
clearer understanding of my tasks. 

Between the upper and lower swales, the ridge on which the house 
stands slopes to its greatest depression along its western boundary, and I 
was shown that if I would cut deep enough, the open drain in the lower 
swale could receive and carry off the water from the upper basin. This 
appeared to be the only resource, but with my limited means it was like a 
ship-canal across the Isthmus of Panama. The old device of emptying my 
drains into a hole that practically had no bottom, suggested itself to me. It 
would be so much easier and cheaper that I resolved once more to try it, 
though with hopes naturally dampened by my last moist experience. I 
directed that the hole (marked B on the map) should be oblong, and in the 
direct line of the ditch, so that if it failed of its purpose it could become a 
part of the drain. Down we went into as perfect sand and gravel as I ever 
saw, and the deeper we dug the dryer it became. This time, in wounding 
old " Mother Earth," we did not cut a vein, and there seemed a fair pros- 
pect of our creating a new one, for into this receptacle I decided to turn my 
largest drain and all the water that the stubborn acre persisted in keeping. 

I therefore had a "box-drain" constructed along the western bound- 
ary of the place (marked C) until it reached the lowest spot in the upper 
swale. This drain was simply and rapidly constructed, in the following 
manner : a ditch was first dug sufficiently deep and wide, and with a fall 
that carried off the water rapidly. In the bottom of this ditch the men 
built two roughly faced walls, one foot high and eight inches apart. Com- 
paratively long, flat stones, that would reach from wall to wall, were easily 
found, and thus we had a covered water-course, eight by twelve inches, 
forming the common box- drain that will usually last a life-time. 

The openings over the channel were carefully " chinked " in with small 
stones and all covered with inverted sods, shavings, leaves or anything that 
prevented the loose soil from sifting or washing down into the water-course. 

At the upper end of the box-drain, just described, a second and 
smaller receptacle was dug (marked D), and from this was constructed 
another box-drain (E), six inches square, across the low ground to the end 
of the canal in which we had found the well (F). This would not only 
drain a portion of the land but would also empty the big ditch (G), and 
prevent the water of the well from rising above a certain point. This 
kind of stone-work can be done rapidly ; two men in two short winter 
days built thirteen rods with a water-course six inches in the clear. 
9 



66 Success with Small Fruits. 

To the upper and further end of the canal (G), I constructed another 
and cheaper style of drain. In the bottom of this ditch (H), two stones 
were placed on their ends or edges and leaned together so as to form a 
kind of arch, and then other stones were thrown over and around them 
until they reached a point eighteen inches from the surface. Over these 
stones, as over the box-drains also, was placed a covering of any coarse 
litter to keep the earth from washing down ; and then the construction 
of one or two short side-drains, the refilling the ditches and leveling the 
ground completed my task. 

It will be remembered that this entire system of drainage ended in 
the excavation (B) already described. The question was now whether 
such a theory of drainage would "hold water." If it would, the hole I 
had dug must not, and I waited to see. It promised well. Quite a 
steady stream poured into it and disappeared. By and by there came a 
heavy March storm. When I went out in the morning, everything was 
afloat. The big canal and the well at its lower end were full to over- 
flowing. The stubborn acre was a quagmire, and alas ! the excavation 
which I had hoped would save so much trouble and expense was also full. 
I plodded back under my umbrella with a brow as lowering as the sky. 
There seemed nothing for it but to cut a " Dutch gap " that would make 
a like chasm in my bank account. By noon it cleared off, and I went 
down to take a melancholy survey of the huge amount of work that now 
seemed necessary, when, to my great joy, the oblong cut, in which so 
many hopes had seemingly been swamped, was entirely empty. From 
the box-drain a large stream poured into it and went down — to China, for 
all that I knew. I went in haste to the big canal and found it empty, and 
the well lowered to the mouth of the drain. The stubborn acre was now 
under my thumb, and I have kept it there ever since. During the past 
summer, I had upon its wettest and stiflest portion two beds of Jucunda 
strawberries that yielded at the rate of one hundred and ninety bushels to 
the acre. The Jucunda strawberry is especially adapted to heavy land 
requiring drainage, and I think an enterprising man in the vicinity of 
New- York, might so unite them as to make a fortune. The hole was 
filled with stones and now forms a part of my garden, and the canal 
answers for a road-bed as at first intended. In the fortuitous well I have 
placed a force-pump, around which are grown and watered my potted 
plants. The theory of carrying drains into gravel does hold water, and 
sometimes holes can be dug at a slight expense, that practically have no 
bottom. I have no doubt that in this instance tile would have been 
better and cheaper than the small stone drains that I have described. 



Preparation of Soil by Drainage. 



67 




Men Ditching. — Jucunda Strawberry. 



68 S^iccess with Small Fruits. 

In the rear of my place there was a third drainage problem very 
different from either of the other two. My farm runs back to the rise of 
the mountain, whose edge it skirts for some distance. It thus receives 
at times much surface water. At the foot of the mountain-slope, there 
are about three acres of low alluvial soil that was formerly covered with 
a coarse, useless herbage of the swamp. Between the meadow and the 
slope of the mountain, "the town" built a "boulevard" (marked I I on 
the map), practically "cribbing" an acre or two of land. Ahab, who 
needed Naboth's vineyard for public purposes, is the spiritual father of all 
" town boards." 

At the extreme end of the farm, and just beyond the alluvial 
ground, was the channel of a brook (marked J). Its stony bed, through 
which trickled a rill, had a very innocent aspect on the October day 
when we looked the farm over and decided upon its purchase. The 
rill ran a little way on my grounds, then crept under the fence and skirted 
my western boundary for several hundred yards. On reaching a rise of 
land, it re-entered my place and ran obliquely across it. It thus inclosed 
three sides of the low, bushy meadow I have named. Its lower channel 
across the place had been stoned up with the evident purpose of keeping 
it within limits ; but the three or four feet of space between the walls had 
become obstructed by roots, bushes, vines and debris in general. With 
the exception of the stony bed where it first entered the farm, most of 
its course was obscured by overhanging bushes and the sere, rank 
herbage of autumn. 

In a vague way, I felt that eventually something would have to be 
done to direct this little child of the mountain into proper ways, and to 
subdue the spirit of the wilderness that it diffused on every side. I had its 
lower channel across the place (K K) cleared out, thinking that this might 
answer for the present ; and the gurgle of the little streamlet along the 
bottom of the ditch seemed a low laugh at the idea of its ever filling the 
three square feet of space above it. Deceitful little brook! Its innocent 
babble contained no suggestion of its hoarse roar on a March day, the fol- 
lowing spring, as it tore its way along, scooping the stones and gravel from 
its upper bed and scattering them far and wide over the alluvial meadow. 
Instead of a tiny rill, I found that I would have to cope at times with 
a mountain torrent. At first, the task was too heavy, and the fitful- 
tempered brook, and the swamp-like region it encompassed, were left 
for years to their old wild instincts. At last the increasing demands of 
my business made it necessary to have more arable land, and I saw that, 
if I could keep it from being overwhelmed with water and gravel, the 
alluvial meadow Avas just the place for strawberries. 



Preparation of Soil by Drainage. 6g 

I commenced at the lowest point where it finally leaves my grounds, 
and dug a canal (K K), twelve feet wide by four or five deep, across my 
place, stoning up its walls on either side. An immense amount of earth 
and gravel was thrown on the lower side so as to form a high, strong 
embankment in addition to the channel. Then, where it entered the farm 
above the meadow, I had a wide, deep ditch excavated, throwing all the 
debris between it and the land I wished to shield. Throughout the low 
meadow, two covered box-drains (L and M) were constructed so that the 
plow could pass over them. On the side of the meadow next to the boule- 
vard and mountain, I had an open drain (N N) dug and filled with stones 
even with the ground. It was designed to catch and carry off the surface 
water, merely, from the long extent of mountain-slope that it skirted. The 
system of ditches to protect and drain the partial swamp, and also to manage 
the deceitful brook, was now finished, and I waited for the results. During 
much of the summer, there was not a drop of water in the wide canal, save 
where a living spring trickled into it. The ordinary fall rains could scarcely 
more than cover the broad, pebbly bottom, and the unsophisticated laughed 
and said that I reminded them of the general who trained a forty-pound 
gun on a belligerent mouse. I remembered what I had seen, and bided my 
time. 

But I did not have to wait till March. One November day, it began to 
rain, and it kept on. All the following night there was a steady rush and 
roar of falling water. It was no ordinary pattering, but a gusty outpouring 
from the "windows of heaven." The two swales in the front and rear of 
the house became great muddy ponds, tawny as the "yellow Tiber," and 
through intervals of the storm came the sullen roar of the little brook that 
had been purring like a kitten all summer. Toward night, Nature grew 
breathless and exhausted ; there were sobbing gusts of wind and sudden 
gushes of rain that grew less and less frequent. It was evident she would 
become quiet in the night and quite serene after her long, tempestuous 
mood. 

As the sun was setting, I ventured out with much misgiving. The 
deepening roar as I went down the lane increased my fears, but I was fairly 
appalled by the wild torrent that cut off all approach to the bridge. The 
water had not only filled the wide canal, but also, at a point a little above 
the bridge, had broken over and washed away the high embankment. I 
skirted along the tide until I reached the part of the bank that still 
remained intact, and there beneath my feet rushed a flood that would have 
instantly swept away horse and rider. Indeed, quite a large tree had been 
torn up by its roots, and carried down until it caught in the bridge, which 
would also have gone had not the embankment above it given way. 



70 Success with Small Frtdts. 

The lower part of the meadow was also under water. It had been 
plowed, and therefore would wash readily. Would any soil be left ? A 
few moments of calm reflection, however, removed my fears. The treach- 
erous brook had not beguiled me during the summer into inadequate pro- 
vision for this unprecedented outbreak. I saw that my deep, wide cut had 
kept the flood wholly from the upper part of the meadow, which contained 
a very valuable bed of high-priced strawberry plants, and that the slowly 
moving tide which covered the lower part was little more than back-water 
and overflow. The wide ditches were carrying off swiftly and harmlessly 
the great volume that, had not such channels been provided, would have 
made my rich alluvial meadow little else than a stony, gravelly waste. And 
the embankment had given way at a point too low down to permit much 
damage. 

The two swales in the front and rear of the 'house appeared like 
mill-ponds. In the former instance, the water had backed up from the 
mountain stream into which my drain emptied, and, therefore, it could not 
pass off; and in the latter instance, I could scarcely expect my little under- 
ground channel to dispose at once of the torrents that for forty hours 
had poured from the skies. I must give it at least a night in which to 
catch up. And a busy night it put in, for by morning it had conveyed 
to depths unknown the wide, discolored pond, that otherwise would have 
smothered the plants it covered. As soon, also, as the mountain stream 
fell below the mouth of the lower drain, it emptied at once the water 
resting on the lower swale. Throughout the day came successive tales of 
havoc and disaster, of dams scooped out, bridges swept away, roads washed 
into stony gulches, and fields' and gardens overwhelmed with debris. 
The Idlewild brook, that the poet Willis made so famous, seemed almost 
demoniac in its power and fury. Not content with washing away dams, 
roads and bridges, it swept a heavy wall across a field as if the stones 
were pebbles. 

My three diverse systems of drainage had thus practically stood the 
severest test, perhaps, that will ever be put upon them, and m^y grounds 
had not been damaged to any extent worth naming. The cost had been 
considerable, but the injury caused by that one storm would have 
amounted to a larger sum had there been no other channels for the water 
than those provided by nature. 

My readers will find, in many instances, that they have land which 
must be or may be drained. If it can be done sufficiently, the very ideal 
strawberry soil may be secured — moist and deep, but not wet. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE PREPARATION OF SOILS COMPARATIVELY UNFAVORABLE CLAY, 

SAND, ETC. 

WE have now reached a point at which we must consider land which 
in its essential character is unfavorable to strawberries, and yet 
which may be the best to be had. The difficulties here are not merely 
accidental or remediable, such as lack of depth or fertility, the presence 
of stones or stumps, undue wetness of soil, etc. Any or all of these 
obstacles may be found, but in addition, there are evils inseparable from 
the soil, and which cannot be wholly eradicated. The best we can hope 
in such a case is to make up by art what is lacking in nature. 

This divergence from the deep, moist sandy loam, the ideal straw- 
berry land, is usually toward a stiff, cold, stubborn clay, or toward a 
droughty, leachy sand that retains neither fertility nor moisture. Of 
course, these opposite soils require in most respects different treatment. 

We will consider first the less objectionable, i. e., the heavy clay. To 
call clay more favorable for strawberries than sandy land may seem like 
heresy to many, for it is a popular impression that light soils are the best. 
Experience and observation have, however, convinced me of the contrary. 
With the clay you have a stable foundation. Your progress may be 
slow, but it can be made sure. The character of a sandy foundation was 
taught centuries ago. Moreover, all the fine foreign-blooded varieties, as 
well as our best native ones, grow far better on heavy land, and a soil 
largely mixed with clay gives a wider range in the choice of varieties. 

If I had my choice between a farm of cold, stiff clay or light, leachy 



^2 Success zvith Small Fi'idts. 

land, I would unhesitatingly take the former, and I would overcome its 
native unfitness by the following methods : If at all inclined to be wet, 
as would be natural from its tenacious texture, I should first underdrain 
it thoroughly with tile. Then, if I found a fair amount of vegetable 
matter, I would give it a dressing of air-slaked lime, and plow it deeply 
late in the fall, leaving it unharrowed so as to expose as much of the soil 
as possible to the action of frost. Early in the spring, as soon as the 
ground was dry enough to work and all danger of frost was over, I would 
harrow in buckwheat and plow it under as it came into blossom ; then 
sow a second crop and plow that under also. It is the characteristic 
of buckwheat to lighten and clean land, and the reader perceives that 
it should be our constant aim to impart lightness and life to the heavy 
soil. Lime, in addition to its fertilizing effects, acts chemically on the 
ground, producing the desired effect. It may be objected that lime is 
not good for strawberries. That is true if crude lime is applied directly 
to the plants, as we would ashes or bone dust ; but when it is mixed 
with the soil for months, it is so neutralized as to be helpful, and in the 
meantime its action on the soil itself is of great value. It must be 
used for strawberries, however, in more limited quantities than for many 
other crops, or else more time must be given for it to become incor- 
porated with the soil. 

The coarse green straw of the buckwheat is useful by its mechanical 
division of the heavy land, while at the same time its decomposition fills 
the soil with ammonia and other gases vitally necessary to the plant. A 
clay soil retains these gases with little waste. It is thus capable of being 
enriched to almost any extent, and can be made a store-house of wealth. 

Where it can be procured, there is no better fertilizer for clay land 
than the product of the horse-stable, which, as a rule, can be plowed 
under in its raw, unfermented state, its heat and action in decay produc- 
ing the best results. Of course, judgment and moderation must be 
employed. The roots of a young, growing plant cannot feed in a mass of 
fermenting manure, no matter what the soil may be. The point I wish to 
make is that, cold, heavy land is greatly benefited by having these heating, 
gas-producing processes take place beneath its surface. After they are 
over, the tall rank foliage and enormous fruit of the Jucunda strawberry (a 
variety that can scarcely grow at all in sand) will show the capabilities 
of clay. 

Heavy land is the favorite home of the grasses, and is usually covered 
with a thick, tenacious sod. This, of course, must be thoroughly subdued 
before strawberries are planted, or else you will have a hay field in spite 



Clay, Satid, Etc. 73 

of all you can do. The decay of this mass of roots, however, furnishes 
just the food required, and a crop of buckwheat greatly hastens decompo- 
sition, and adds its own bulk and fertility when plowed under. I think 
it will scarcely ever pay to plant strawberries directly on the sod of 
heavy land. 

While buckwheat is a good green crop to plow under, if the cultivator 
can wait for the more slowly maturing red-top clover, he will find it far 
better, both to enrich and to lighten up his heavy soil ; for it is justly 
regarded as the best means of imparting the mellowness and friability in 
which the roots of strawberries as well as all other plants luxuriate. 

There are, no doubt, soils fit for bricks and piping only, but in most 
instances, by a judicious use of the means suggested, they can be made to 
produce heavy and long- continued crops of the largest fruit. 

These same principles apply to the small garden-plot as well as to the 
acre. Instead of carting off weeds, old pea- vines, etc., dig them under 
evenly over the entire space, when possible. Enrich with warm, light fer- 
tilizers, and if a good heavy coat of hot strawy manure is trenched in the 
heaviest, stickiest clay, in October or November, strawberries or anything 
else can be planted the following spring. The gardener who thus expends 
a little thought and far-sighted labor will at last secure results that will 
surpass his most sanguine hopes, and that, too, from land that would 
otherwise be as hard as Pharaoh's heart. 

Before passing from this soil to that of an opposite character, let me 
add a few words of caution. Clay land should never be stirred when 
either very wet or very dry, or else a lumpy condition results that injures 
it for years. It should be plowed or dug only when it crumbles. When 
the soil is sticky, or turns up in great hard lumps, let it alone. The more 
haste the worst speed. 

Again, the practice of fall plowing, so very beneficial in latitudes 
where frosts are severe and long continued, is just the reverse in the far 
South. There our snow is rain, and the upturned furrows are washed 
down into a smooth, sticky mass by the winter storms. On steep hill- 
sides, much of the soil would ooze away with every rain, or slide down 
hill en masse. In the South, therefore, unless a clay soil is to be planted 
at once, it must not be disturbed in the fall, and it is well if it can be pro- 
tected by stubble or litter, which shields it from the direct contact of 
the rain and from the sun's rays. But cow-peas, or any other rank-grow- 
ing green crop adapted to the locality, is as useful to Southern clay as to 
Northern, and Southern fields might be enriched rapidly, since their long 
season permits of plowing under several growths. 
10 



74 Success zuitJi Small Fruits. 

Lime and potash, in their various forms in connection with green 
crops, would give permanent fertihty to every heavy acre of Southern 
land. In my judgment, however, barn-yard manure is not surpassed in 
value by any other in any latitude. If one owned clay land from which 
he could not secure good crops after the preparation that has been sug- 
gested, he had better either turn it into a brick-yard or emigrate. 

Sandy Ground. — Suppose that, in contrast, our soil is a light sand. 
In this case, the question of cultivation is greatly simplified, but the 
problem of obtaining a heavy crop is correspondingly difficult. The 
plow and the cultivator run readily enough, and much less labor is 
required to keep the weeds in subjection, but as a rule, light land yields 
little fruit, and yet under favorable circumstances I have seen magnifi- 
cent crops of certain varieties growing on sand. If sufficient moisture 
and fertility can be maintained, many of our best varieties will thrive 
and produce abundantly ; but to do this is the very pith of our diffi- 
culty. Too often a sandy soil will not retain moisture and manure. Such 
light land is generally very deficient in vegetable matter ; and, therefore, 
whenever it is possible, I would turn under green crops. If the soil could 
be made sufficiently fertile to produce a heavy crop of clover, and this 
were plowed under in June, and then buckwheat harrowed in and its 
rank growth turned under in August, strawberries could be planted as 
soon as the heat of decay was over, with excellent prospects of fine 
crops for the three succeeding years. Did I propose to keep the land 
in strawberries, I would then give it another year of clover and buckwheat, 
adding bone dust, potash and a very little lime in some form. The green 
crop, when decayed, is lighter than clay, and renders its tenacious 
texture more friable and porous ; it also benefits the sandy soil by 
supplying the absent humus, or vegetable mold, which is essential to 
all plant life. This mold is also cool and humid in its nature, and aids in 
retaining moisture. 

With the exception of the constant effort to place green vegetable 
matter under the surface, my treatment of sandy ground would be the 
reverse of that described for clay. Before using the product of the horse- 
stable, I would compost it with at least an equal bulk of leaves, muck, 
sods, or even plain earth, if nothing better could be found. A compost 
of stable manure with clay would be most excellent. If possible, I would 
not use any manure on light ground until all fermentation was over, 
and then I would rather harrozv than plow it in. This will leave it 
near the surface, and the rains will leach it down to the roots — and 
below them, also — only too soon. Fertility cannot be stored up in sand 
as in clay, and it should be our aim to give our strawberries the food 



Clay, Sand, Etc. yc 

they need in a form that permits of its immediate use. Therefore, in 
preparing such land, I would advise deep plowing while it is moist, if 
possible, soon after a rain ; then the harrowing in of a liberal top- 
dressing of rotted compost, or of muck sweetened by the action of frost 
and the fermentation of manure, or, best of all, the product of the cow- 
stable. Decayed leaves, sods and wood ashes also make excellent 
fertilizers. 

In the garden, light soils can be given a much more stable and 
productive character by covering them with clay to the depth of one 
or two inches every fall, and then plowing it in. The winter's frost 
and rains mix the two diverse soils, to their mutual benefit. Carting 
sand on clay is rarely remunerative ; the reverse is decidedly so, and 
top-dressings of clay on light land are often more beneficial than equal 
amounts of manure. 

As practically employed, I regard quick, stimulating manures, like 
guano, very injurious to light soils. I believe them to be the curse of 
the South. They are used "to make a crop," as it is termed; and 
they do make it for a few years, but to the utter impoverishment of 
the land. The soil becomes as exhausted as a man would be should he 
seek to labor under the support of stimulants only. In both instances, 
an abundance of food is needed. A quinine pill is not a dinner, and a 
dusting of guano or phosphate cannot enrich the land. 

And yet, by the aid of these stimulating commercial fertilizers, the 
poorest and thinnest soil can be made to produce fine strawberries, if 
sufficient moisture can be maintained. Just as a physician can rally an 
exhausted man to a condition in which he can take and be strengthened by 
food, so land, too poor and light to sprout a pea, can be stimulated into 
producing a meager green crop of some kind, which, plowed under, will ena- 
ble the land to produce a second and heavier burden. This, in turn, placed 
in the soil, will begin to give a suggestion of fertility. Thus, poor or 
exhausted soils can be made, by several years of skillful management, to 
convalesce slowly into strength. 

Whether such patient outlay of time and labor will pay on a continent 
abounding in land naturally productive, is a very dubious question. 

Coarse, gravelly soils are usually even worse. If we must grow our 
strawberries on them, give the same general treatment that I have just 
suggested. 

On some peat soils, the strawberry thrives abundantly ; on others it 
burns and dwindles. Under such conditions I should experiment with 
bone dust, ashes, etc., until I found just what was lacking. 

No written directions can take the place of common sense, judgment, 



^6 Success zvit/i Small Fruits. 

and, above all, experience. Soils vary like individual character. I have 
yet to learn of a system of rules that will teach us how to deal with every 
man we meet. It is ever wise, however, to deal justly and liberally. He 
that expects much from his land must give it much. 

I have dwelt at length on the preparation and enrichment of the land, 
since it is the corner-stone of all subsequent success. Let me close by 
emphasizing again the principle which was made prominent at first. 
Though we give our strawberry plants everything else they need, our 
crop of fruit will yet be good or bad in the proportion that we are able to 
maintain abundant moisture during the blossoming and fruiting season. 
If provision can be made for irrigation, it may increase the yield tenfold. 



CHAPTER X. 



COMMERCIAL AND SPECIAL FERTILIZERS. 



IN preparing and enriching the soil, and especially in subsequent cultiva- 
tion, concentrated fertilizers are very useful and often essential. In 
dealing with this subject, however, I think we tread upon uncertain 
ground. There is a great deal of apparent accuracy of figures and 
analyses carried carefully into decimals, but a wonderful deal of vagueness, 
uncertainty and contradiction in the experiences and minds of cultivators. 
It is well known that many commercial fertilizers are scandalously 
adulterated, and those who have suffered from frauds are hostile to the 
entire class. In their strong prejudice, they will neither discriminate nor 
investigate. There are others who associate everything having a chemical 
sound with "book farming," and therefore dismiss the whole subject with 
a sniff of contempt. This clique of horticulturists is rapidly diminishing, 
however, for the fruit grower who does not read is like the lawyer who 
tries to practice with barely a knowledge of the few laws revealed by a 
limited experience. In contrast, there are others who read and theorize 
too exclusively, and are inclined to assert that concentrated fertilizers 
supersede all others. They scout the muck swamp, the compost heap, 
and even the barn-yard, as old-fashioned, cumbrous methods of bringing 
to the soil, in tons of useless matter, the essentials which they can deliver in 
a few sacks or barrels. On paper, they are scientific and accurate. The 
crop you wish to raise has constituents in certain proportions. Supply 
these, they say, and you have the chemical compound or crop. A field 



78 Success zvith Small Fniits. 

or garden, however, is not a sheet of blank paper, but a combination at 
which nature has been at work, and left full of obscurities. The results 
which the agricultural chemist predicted so confidently do not always 
follow, as they ought. Nature is often very indifferent to learned 
authorities. 

There is yet another class — a large one, too — who regard these ferti- 
lizers as they do the drugs of an apothecary. They occasionally give their 
land a dose of them as they take medicine themselves, when indisposed or 
imagining themselves so. In either case, there is almost entire ignorance of 
the nature of the compound or of definite reasons for its usefulness. Both 
the man and the field were " run down," and some one said that this, that, 
or the other thing was good. Therefore, it was tried. Such hap-hazard 
action is certainly not the surest method of securing health or fertility. 

In no other department of horticulture is there more room for 
common sense, accurate knowledge, skill, and good management, than in 
the use of all kinds of fertilizers, and, in my judgment, close and continued 
observation is worth volumes of theory. The proper enrichment of the 
soil is the very corner-stone of success, and more fail at this point than at 
any other. While I do not believe that accurate and complete directions 
for the treatment of every soil can be written, it is undoubtedly true that 
certain correct principles can be laid down, and information, suggestion, 
and records of experience given which will be very useful. With such data 
to start with, the intelligent cultivator can work out the problem of 
success in the peculiar conditions of his own farm or garden. 

It must be true that land designed for strawberries requires those 
constituents which are shown to compose the plant and fruit, and that the 
presence of each one in the soil should be in proportion to the demand 
for it. It is also equally plain that the supply of these essential elements 
should be kept up in continued cultivation. Therefore, the question 
naturally arises, what are strawberry plants and fruit made of? Modern 
wine, we know, can be made without any grape juice whatever, but as 
Nature compounds strawberries in the open sunlight, instead of in back 
rooms and cellars, she insists on all the proper ingredients before she will 
form the required combination. 

The Country Gentleman gives a very interesting letter from Prof. S. W. 
Johnson, of the Connecticut Experiment Station, containing the following 
careful analysis made by J. Isidore Pierre, a French writer. " Pierre," says 
the professor, " gives a statement of the composition, exclusive of water, of 
the total yield per hectare of fruit, taken up to June 30, and of leaves, 
stems and runners, taken up to the middle of August. These results, 



Commercial and Special Fertilizers. 79 

calculated in pounds per acre, are the following (the plants contained 62.3 
per cent, of water and the fruit 90 per cent.) : 



Composition of the zvater-free strawberry crop (except roots), at the middle of 
August, in pounds per acre, according to Pierre : 

Plants. Fruii. Totals. 

Organic matter, exclusive of nitrogen 4268.4 i°53-S 532i-9 

Nitrogen 88.5 16.0 io4-5 

Silica, iron and manganese oxides 43.3 '\ > 48.6 

Phosphoric acid 35.3 5.4 40.7 

Lime 102.7 7-9 110.6 

Magnesia 16. i .7 16.8 

Potash 89.1 19.7 108.8 

Soda 6.4 .9 7.3 

Other matters 120.9 8.8 129.7 

Dry substance 4770.7 11 18.2 5888.9" 

These are the constituents that, to start with, must be in the soil, and 
which must be kept there. This array of what to many are but obscure 
chemicals need not cause misgivings, since in most instances nature has 
stored them in the virgin soil in abundant proportions. Even in well-worn, 
long-cultivated fields, some of them may exist in sufficient quantity. 
Therefore, buying a special fertilizer is often like carrying coals to New 
Castle. Useless expenditure may be incurred, also, by supplying some, 
but not all, of the essential ingredients. A farmer applied 600 lbs. of 
superphosphate to a plat of corn-land, and 300 lbs. to an adjacent plat 
wherein the conditions were the same. The yield of the first plat was 
scarcely in excess of that of the second, and in neither case was there a suf- 
ficient increase to repay for the fertilizer. It does not follow that the man 
used an adulterated and worthless article. Analysis shows that corn needs 
nitrogen and potash in large proportions ; and if these had been employed 
with the superphosphate, the result probably would have been very differ- 
ent. Superphosphate contains nitrogen, but not in sufficient degree. 
These considerations bring us to the sound conclusion that in enriching our 
land it would be wise to use complete fertilizers as far as possible ; that is, 
manures containing all, or nearly all, the essential ingredients of the straw- 
berry plant and fruit. If we could always know just what elements are 
lacking in our soils, we could merely supply these ; but frequent analyses 
are expensive, and often misleading, at best. The safest plan is always to 



8o Success with Small Fruits. 

keep within reach of the plants the food we know they require, and the 
roots, with unerring instinct, will attend to the proportions. Hence the 
value of barn-yard manure in the estimation of plain common sense. A 
sensible writer has clearly shown that from twenty-three cows and five 
horses, if proper absorbents are used, $5.87 worth of nitrogen, potash and 
phosphoric acid can be obtained every twenty-four hours, estimating these 
vitally important elements of plant-food at their wholesale valuation. In 
addition, there are the other constituents of the yard manure which, if not 
so valuable, are still very useful. To permit the waste of any fertilizer that 
can be saved or made upon our places, and then buy the same thing with the 
chance of being cheated, is thus shown to be wretched economy. Com- 
mercial fertilizers can never supersede the compost heap, into which should 
go everything which will enable us to place in the soil organic matter and 
the other elements that were given in the analysis ; and if all the sewage and 
waste of the dwelling and the products of the stable, stys and poultry-house 
were well composted with muck, sod, leaves, or even common earth, and 
used liberally, magnificent and continued crops of strawberries could be 
raised from nearly all soils. 

In many instances, however, home-made composts are wholly inade- 
quate to supply the need, and stable manures are too costly or not to be 
obtained. The fruit grower should then go to those manufacturers of fer- 
tilizers who have the best reputation, and who give the best guarantees 
against deception. There are perfectly honest dealers, and it is by far the 
cheapest in the end to pay them their price for a genuine article. If such 
concentrated agents are used in connection with a green crop like clover, 
land can be made and kept productive continuously. In the use of com- 
mercial fertilizers, there should be a constant and intelligent efibrt to 
keep up a supply of all the essential ingredients. Wood ashes is a specific 
for strawberries. I have never found any one thing so good, and yet it is 
substantially but one thing, potash, and I should remember that the plant 
also requires nitrogen, which guano, or some form of animal manure, 
would furnish ; lime, which is best applied to the strawberry in the form of 
bone meal, etc. The essential phosphoric acid is furnished in bone meal, 
the superphosphates, and also in wood ashes. By referring to an analysis 
of the ash red clover, it will be found to contain nearly everything that 
the strawberry requires. 

The man who reads, observes and experiments carefully, will find 
that he can accomplish much with lime and salt. If one has land full 
of vegetable or organic matter, an application of lime will render this 
matter fit for plant food, and the lime itself, in the course of a year or 



Commercial and Special Fertilizers. 8i 

less, will be rendered harmless in the process. It also sweetens and 
lightens heavy, sour land, and thus, in time, renders it better adapted to 
the strawberry ; but lime should not be applied directly, in any considerable 
quantity, to strawberry plants, nor should it be used on very light soils 
deficient in vegetable matter. The judicious use of salt in small quantities 
will, I think, prove very beneficial, especially on light upland. It tends to 
prevent injury from drought, and to clear the land of the larvae of insects. 
I am inclined to think that much can be accomplished with this agent, 
and hope to make some careful experiments Avith it. But it should be 
used very cautiously, or it will check or destroy growth. 

I have received a letter from Mr. J. H. Hale, of South Glastonbury, 
Conn., that is such a clear and interesting record of experience on this 
subject that I am led to give it almost entire : 

" We have always used Peruvian guano, fish scrap, and ground bone to some 
extent, but until the past five years have depended mainly upon stable manure 
brought from New York city on boats, using about fifteen cords per acre yearly, 
and always with satisfactory results, the only objection being the expense. The 
price ranged from $8 to $12 per cord, or on an average of $150 per acre; and 
in trying to reduce this expense we commenced testing different fertilizers, plant- 
ing, in 1874, one acre of strawberries manured with two tons of fish scrap, at $20 
per ton, and one hundred bushels of unleached wood ashes, at 30 cents per bushel ; 
making a total cost of $70. The result was a strong, rapid growth of plants early in 
the summer, but in September and October they began to show signs of not having 
plant food enough, and then we saw our mistake in using fish in place of bone, or 
some other slow-acting fertilizer that the plants could not have taken up so greedily 
early in the summer, but would have had to feed on slowly all through the 
season. The fruit crop the following year, as might have been expected, was not a 
success, being only about half a crop. In 1875, we planted another acre, using one 
ton of ground bone and one hundred bushels of wood ashes, at a total cost of $73; 
the result was a fine, even growth of plants all through the season, and a perfect 
crop of fruit the following year, fully equal to that on adjoining acres that had 
been manured with stable manure at a cost of $150 per acre, to say nothing of 
the carting of such a great bulk of manure. In the spring of 1876, being so well 
pleased with the appearance of our one acre manured with bone and ashes, we 
planned to fertilize all of our fruits in the same way. Then the question arose, 
where were we to get the ashes ? We could buy enough for an acre or two, but 
not enough for our whole farm. What were we to do ? Potash we must have, as 
that is the leading element of plant food required by small fruits of all kinds. We 
found we must look to the German potash salts for what we wanted, and we there- 
fore bought several tons of High Grade (80 per cent.) muriate of potash at $40 per 
ton, using 1,000 pounds per acre, and one ton of bone at $35, making a total cost 
of only $55 per acre. The plants did not grow quite as well early in the season as 
those on the fields where ashes were used, but later in the season they made a very 
fine growth, and at fruiting dme, in 1877, we harvested a full and abundant crop of 
II 



82 Success ivith Small Fruits. 

strawberries and raspberries. Since that time, we have used nothing but ground 
bone and muriate of potash to manure all of our berry fields with, and continue to 
get fully as satisfactory results as in former years, when we depended upon stable 
manure at more than double the cost per acre. Some parties who have been look- 
ing into the matter suggest that possibly our satisfactory results are owing not so 
much to the fertilizers as to the liberal supply of stable manure used in former years. ^ 
Yet the past season we picked 143 bushels of Charles Downings per acre, from a 
field manured with bone and potash, so poor and worn out that, two years before, it 
would only produce six bushels of rye per acre. That land had no stable manure 
on it, and if it was not the bone and potash that furnished food for the berries, we 
would like to know what it was. The one mistake we have made is, I think, in not 
using six or eight hundred pounds of fish scrap or guano, and only 1,500 pounds of 
bone. The fish or guano, being such quick-acting fertilizers, would give the plants a 
much better start early in the season than would be the case if only the bone and 
potash were used. We shall try it the coming spring. In applying the potash, great 
care should be taken to have it thoroughly incorporated with the soil, it being only 
about 55 per cent, actual potash ; the balance, being largely composed of salt, would, 
of course, kill the roots of young plants if brought directly in contact with them. 
In fields where we have used the potash, we have been troubled with white grubs 
only to a very limited extent, while portions of the same field where stable manure 
had been used were badly infested with them, and while I do not think salt will 
drive them all out of the soil, I do believe it will do so to some extent. Besides 
the fertilizers I have named, we have in the past six years experimented in a small 
way with many others. Among them, Stockbridge's strawberry manure and Mapes' 
fruit and vine manures, but have never had as good returns for the money invested 
as from the bone and potash ; and yet, while they have proved of such great value to 
us, I would not advise you or any one to give up stable manure for them if you can 
get it at the same cost per acre, but if you cannot, then I say try bone dust and 
potash in a small way, until you learn just what your soil wants, and then supply 
it whether it be 500, 1,000, or 2,000 pounds per acre." 

Mr. Hale adds: 

" The most of our soil is a sandy loam. We have some heavy loam and a few 
acres of clay gravel, and we have always had good results from the use of bone and 
potash on all of these soils. 

" We have never used lime on our berry fields at the time of planting, and yet, 
as you know, all of our New England soils are deficient in lime. We use some 
indirectly, as we grow clover to plow under, and usually give at that time a good 
dressing of lime. As we try to have a new clover field every year, we get all 
around the farm in six or eight years, and we therefore get a dressing of lime all 
around once in that time, and have never been able to see any ill effects from it. In 
fact, we believe it a positive benefit in helping to keep down sorrel, if nothing 
more." 

There would be very few worn-out farms, or poverty-stricken farmers, 
if all followed the example of the Hale brothers. 



Comniercial and Special Fertilizers. 83 

The value of potash and bone meal is thus clearly shown, but the latter 
does not contain nitrogen in sufficient quantity. I think Mr. Hale is cor- 
rect in the opinion that he can secure better results by using at the same 
time some nitrogenous manure, like fish scrap, guano, etc. If he had 
heavy, cold, clay land to deal with, it is possible that he might find the 
stable manure the cheapest and best in the long run, even at its increased 
cost. 

Mr. W. L. Ferris, of Poughkeepsie, writes to me that he has found 
great advantage in the use of the Mapes & Stockbridge special fertilizers. 
" My experience," he says, " is only as to strawberries, and on them I 
would say that the result of applying equal values of manure — stable and 
commercial — as to cost, would be from ten to twenty-five per cent, in 
favor of the commercial, as a stimulant to apply in the spring, or, in small 
quantities, to plants first starting. This does not apply to the first 
preparation of the ground. In this direction I propose to experiment. 
I have heretofore applied fertilizers early in spring by hand, distributing 
it along the rows." 

Records of varying experiences, and the discussion of commercial 
fertilizers, might be continued indefinitely, but enough has been said, I 
think, to suggest to each cultivator unacquainted with the subject in what 
directions he should seek success. If I were asked what is the one special 
manure in which the strawberry especially delights, I should answer 
unhesitatingly, the well decayed and composted production of the cow- 
stable, and if the reader had seen Mr. Durand's beds of the Great Ameri- 
can variety in bearing, after being enriched with this material, he would be 
well satisfied to use it when it could be obtained. The vines of even this 
fastidious berry, that falters and fails in most soils, averaged one foot in 
height, and were loaded with enormous fruit. The subject may be 
summed up by an extract from a letter of Mr. Alexander Hyde to the 
Neiv York Times : 

" Nitrates, phosphates and ammonia are good fertilizers, and just the chemicals 
which most lands need, but plants require a good bed as well as good food. The 
physical condition of the soil, as well as the chemical, must receive attention, and 
we know of nothing superior to a well-made compost for furnishing both the chemi- 
cal and physical conditions necessary for the development of our crops." 



CHAPTER XL 



OBTAINING PLANTS AND IMPROVING OUR STOCK. 



HAVING prepared and enriched our ground, we are ready for the 
plants. They can often be obtained from a good neighbor whose 
beds we have watched across the fence, and whose varieties we have 
sampled to our satisfaction. But the most liberal neighbors may not be able 
to furnish all we need, or the kinds we wish. Moreover, in private gardens, 
names and varieties are usually in a sad tangle. We must go to the 
nurseryman. At this point, perhaps, a brief appeal to the reader's 
common sense may save much subsequent loss and disappointment. 

In most of our purchases, we see the article before we take it, and can 
estimate its value. Just the reverse is usually true of plants. We know 
— or believe — that certain varieties are valuable, and we order them from 
a distance, paying in advance. When received, the most experienced 
cannot be sure that the plants are true to the names they bear. We 
must plant them in our carefully prepared land, expend upon them money, 
labor, and, above all, months and years of our brief lives, only to learn, 
perhaps, that the varieties are not what we ordered, and that we have 
wasted everything on a worthless kind. The importance of starting right, 
therefore, can scarcely be overestimated. It is always best to buy of men 
who, in the main, grow their own stock, and therefore know about it, and 
who have established a reputation for integrity and accuracy. The 
itinerant agent flits from Maine to California, and too often the marvelous 
portraits of fruits that he exhibits do not even resemble the varieties 



Obtaiiiing Plants and Imprvving onr Stock. 85 

whose names they bear. It is best to buy of those who have a "local 
habitation and a name," and then, if anything is wrong, one knows where 
to look for redress. 

Even if one wishes to be accurate, it is difficult to know that one's 
stock is absolutely pure and true to name. The evil of mixed plants is 
more often perpetuated in the following innocent manner than by any 
intentional deception : For instance, one buys from a trustworthy source, 
as he supposes, a thousand " Monarch " strawberry plants, and sets them 
out in the spring. All blossoms should be picked off the first year, and, 
therefore, there can be no fruit as a test of purity that season. But by 
fall there are many thousands of young plants. The grower naturally 
says: " I bought these for the Monarch, therefore they are Monarchs," 
and he sells many plants as such. When coming into fruit the second 
summer, he finds, however, that not one in twenty is a Monarch plant. 
As an honest man, he now digs them under in disgust; but the mischief 
has already been done, and scattered throughout the country are 
thousands of mixed plants which multiply with the vigor of evil. 
Nurserymen should never take varieties for granted, no matter where 
obtained. I endeavor so to train my eye that I can detect the distin- 
guishing marks even in the foliage and blossoms, and if anything looks 
suspicious I root it out. The foliage of the Monarch of the West is so 
distinct that if one learns to know it he can tell whether his plants are 
mixed at a glance. 

If possible, the nurseryman should start with plants that he knows to be 
genuine, and propagate from them. Then, by constant and personal vigi- 
lance, he can maintain a stock that will not be productive chiefly of pro- 
fanity when coming into fruit. This scrutiny of propagating beds is a 
department that I shall never delegate to any one else. 

It is not thrift to save in the first cost of plants, if thereby the risk of 
obtaining poor, mixed varieties is increased. I do not care to save five 
dollars to-day and lose fifty by the operation within a year. A gentleman 
wrote to me: "I have been outrageously cheated in buying plants." On 
the same page he asked me to furnish stock at rates as absurdly low as 
those of the man who cheated him. If one insists on having an article at 
far less than the cost of production, it is not strange that he finds some who 
will "cheat him outrageously." I find it by far the cheapest in the long 
run to go to the most trustworthy sources, and pay the grower a price 
which enables him to give me just what I want. 

When plants are both fine and genuine they can still be spoiled, or, at 
least, injured in transit from the ground where they grew. Dig so as to 



86 



Success with Small Fruits. 



save all the roots, shake these clean of earth, straighten them out, and tie 
the plants into bundles of fifty. Pack in boxes, with the roots down in 
moss and the tops exposed to the air. Do not press them in too tightly or 
make them too wet, or else the plants become heated — a process which 
speedily robs them of all vitality. In cool seasons, and when the distance 
is not too great, plants can be shipped in barrels thickly perforated with 
holes. The tops should be toward the sides and the roots in the center, 
down through which there should be a circulation of air. In every case, 

envelop the roots in damp moss 
or leaves — damp, but not wet. 
Plants can be sent by mail at the 
rate of one cent per ounce, and 
those obtained in this way rarely 
fail in doing well. 

This fact should be carefully 
kept in mind by those residing 
long distances from express 
offices, or the points from which 
they wish to order their plants. 
Packages weighing four pounds 
and less can be sent by mail and 
received with our letters, and by 
a little inquiry and calculation it 
may be found the cheapest and 
most convenient way of obtaining 
them. I find no difficulty in 
mailing all the small fruit plants to every part of the continent. 

The greater part of the counting and packing of plants should be done 
in a cellar, or some place of low, even temperature, in order to prevent the 
little fibrous roots, on which the future growth so greatly depends, from 
becoming shriveled. The best part of the roots are extremely sensitive to 
sunlight or frost, and, worse than all, to a cold, dry wind. Therefore, have 
the plants gathered up as fast as they are dug and carried to a damp, cool 
room, where the temperature varies but little. From such a place they 
can be packed and shipped with the leisure that insures careful work. 

After having obtained good genuine plants to start with, we can 
greatly improve our stock by a system of careful selection. This is a 
truth of great importance, but so obvious that we need not dwell long 
upon it. Let me illustrate what I mean by the course I propose to enter 
upon during the coming season. In our beds of each variety there will be 




Counting and Mailing Plants. 



Obtaining Plants and Improving our Stock. 8/ 

a few plants that, for some reason, will surpass all the others in vigor, pro- 
ductiveness, and especially in the manifestation of the peculiar and distin- 
guishing traits of the variety. I shall carefully mark such plants, remove 
all others from their vicinity, and propagate from them. Thus, in the 
course of two or three years, I shall renew my entir-e stock of standard 
varieties from the very best and most characteristic specimens of each kind. 
From this improved stock the best types should be chosen again and again ; 
and by this course I am satisfied that a surprising degree of excellence 
can be attained. It is on the same principle of careful breeding from 
blooded and perfect animals. From very many localities come the com- 
plaint that Wilsons and other fine old varieties are " running out." How 
can it be otherwise, in view of the treatment they receive and the careless 
way in which they are propagated ? Even when unmixed, they are usually 
the enfeebled children of degenerate parents. There is no variety in the 
country more badly mixed than the Wilson, and the trouble often arises 
from wild strawberries creeping in among them from the edges of the 
field. The spurious plants are taken up with the others, and the mixture 
is scattered up and down the land. The same is true with other varieties 
that have long been in cultivation. Indeed, I have found mixtures in new 
varieties obtained directly from the originators. Therefore the need that 
the plant grower should give personal and unceasing vigilance to the stock 
from which he propagates, and that those who take a pride in improving 
their stock should often scan their beds narrowly. Moreover, if a bed 
stands several years in the same place, new seedlings may spring up, and 
thus create a mixture. 



CHAPTER XII. 



WHEN SHALL WE PLANT? 



NATURE has endowed the strawberry plant with the power of 
taking root and growing readih" at almost any season when young 
plants can be obtained. My best success, however, has been in November 
and early spring. The latter part of May and the month of June is the 
only time at which I have not planted with satisfactory results. In 
Northern latitudes, early spring is preferable, for at this season the ground 
is moist, showers are abundant, and the impulse of growth is strong. 
The weather is cool, also, and therefore the plants rarely heat or dry out 
during transportation. 

In the South, autumn is by far the best time to plant. When the 
young plants are grown on the same place, they may be transferred to 
the fruiting beds and fields any time between July and the middle of 
November. The earlier they are set out, if they can be kept growing 
during the remainder of the hot season, the larger will be the yield the 
following spring. As a rule, plants, unless grown in pots, cannot be 
shipped from the North to the South until cool weather. The forward- 
ing to the latitude of Richmond begins in September, and to points 
farther south in October and November ; from Florida to Louisiana I 
hear of almost unvarying success. 

Of late years, the practice of growing plants in pots and sending 
them out as the florists do flowers has become very prevalent. These 
potted plants can be set out in July, August and September, and the 



When shall zue Plant ? 89 

ball of earth clinging to their roots prevents wilting, and, unless they 
are neglected, insures their living. Pot-grown plants are readily obtained 
by sinking two and a half or three-inch pots up to their rims in the 
propagating-beds, and filling them with rich earth mingled with old 




Potting Runners. 

thoroughly rotted compost, leaf mold, decayed sods, etc., but never with 
fresh, unfermented manure. I have found the admixture of a little fine 
bone meal with the soil to be strong aid to vigorous growth. The 
young runners are then so guided and held down by a small stone or lump 
of earth that they will take root in the pots. Indeed, quite large plants, 
if still attached to thrifty runners, may be taken up, their roots shortened 
to one-quarter of an inch, and these inserted in the little pots, which will 
be speedily filled with a new growth of roots. It is very important 
that abundant and continuous moisture should be maintained. A hot 
wind or a scorching sun will dry out within a few hours the small 
amount of earth the pots contain, and the plants thus receive a check 
from which they may never recover. The amateur should watch them 
closely, and the plant grower should employ a man with the clear 
12 



go Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

understanding that he would lose his position if he permitted moisture 
to fail even for half a day. 

In about two weeks, with good management, the plants will fill the 
pots with roots, which so interlace as to hold the ball of earth compactly 
together during transportation. This ball of earth, with the roots, sepa- 
rates readily from the pot, and the plant, thus sustained, could be shipped 
around the world if kept from drying out and the foliage protected from the 
effects of alternate heat and cold. The agricultural editor of the Nezv York 
Weekly Times writes me that the potted plants are worth their increased 
cost, if for no other reason, because they are so easily planted in hot 
weather. 

The chief advantage of summer planting lies in the fact that we obtain 
a good crop the following season, while plants set out in spring should not 

be permitted to bear at all 
the same year. If we discover 
m May or June that our supply 
is insufficient, or that some new 
varieties offer us paradisaical 
flavors, we can set out the 
A Potted Plant. plants in the summer or autumn 

of the same year, and within 
eight or ten months gather the fruits of our labors. If the season is 
somewhat showery, or if one is willing to take the trouble to water and 
shade the young plants, ordinary layers — that is, plants that have grown 
naturally in the open ground — will answer almost as well as those that 
have been rooted in pots. The fact that they do not cost half as much is 
also in their favor. 

The disposition to plant in summer or autumn is steadily increasing, 
and the following reasons are good and substantial ones for the practice. 
In our gardens and fields there are many crops that mature in July, 
August and September. The cultivation of these crops has probably left 
the ground mellow, and in good condition for strawberries. Instead of 
leaving this land idle, or a place for weeds to grow and seed, it can be 
deeply forked or plowed, and enriched, as has been explained. Even in 
July, potted plants may be bought, and unless the ground is full of the 
larvse of the June beetle, or the plants are treated with utter neglect, not 
one in a hundred will fail. Say the plants cost us two and a half cents 
each, by the time they are planted, instead of one-half to one cent as in 
the spring, is there not a prospect of an equal or larger profit ? A potted 
plant set out in summer or early autumn, and allowed to make no runners, 




lV/ie7i shall we Plant? 91 

will yield at least a pint of fruit ; and usually these first berries are 
very large and fine, bringing the best prices. Suppose, however, we are 
able to obtain but ten cents a quart, you still have a margin of two and 
one-half cents on each plant. Adding two cents to the cost of each 
plant to cover the expense of cultivation, winter protection, spring mulch- 
ing, picking, etc., there still remains a profit of half a cent on each plant. 
Supposing we have an acre containing 14,520 plants, our estimate gives a 
profit of $72.60 for the first year. If we clear but a quarter of a cent on each 
plant, we have a profit of $36.30. The prospects are, however, that if 
we plant early in the summer, on rich ground, and give good cultivation, 
our plants will yield more than a pint each, and the fruit sell for more 
than ten cents a quart. 

This estimate applies to the common market varieties raised with only 
ordinary skill and success. Suppose, in contrast, one plants the large, 
showy, high-flavored varieties, and is able to obtain from fifteen to thirty 
cents per quart. The expenses in this case are no greater, while the 
profits are very largely increased. 

Good potted plants can be bought for about $2.50 per 100, or $20 
per 2,000. I do not think that they can be properly grown and sold 
at much lower rates and afford a living profit. Freight and express 
charges are a heavy item of expense, since the earth encasing the 
roots renders the packages very heavy, and but comparatively few 
plants can be shipped in one box. But, allowing for all expenses, I think 
it is evident that people can obtain a fair profit from potted plants within 
eight or ten months from the time of planting. Moreover, autumn-set 
plants start with double vigor in early spring, and make a fine growth 
before the hot, dry weather checks them ; and the crop from them the 
second year wall be the very best that they are capable of producing. 
Two paying crops are thus obtained within two years, and the cost of cul- 
tivation the first year is slight, for the plants are set after the great impulse 
of annual weed growth is past. With spring-set plants you get but one 
crop in two years. The first year yields nothing unless plants are sold, 
and yet the cultivation must be unceasing through May, June and July, 
when Nature seems to give no little thought to the problem of how many 
weeds can be grown to the square inch. If one wishes early plants, he 
certainly should practice autumn planting, for a plant set even in Novem- 
ber will beg-in to make runners nearlv a month earlier than one set in 
spring. 

Thus far we have looked at the subject from a business stand-point. 

Those who wish plants for the home supply certainly should not 



92 Success with Sviall Fi'uits. 

hesitate to furnish their gardens as early in the summer as possible. To 
wait two years of our short lives for strawberries because the plants 
are a little cheaper in the spring is a phase of economy that suggests 
the moon. Such self-denial in a good cause would be heroic. 

If people will use a little forethought, they can practice summer and 
autumn planting with double success, independently of the plant grower. 
We have shown that there is no mystery in raising potted plants. More- 
over, in the hottest summers there are showery, cloudy days when 
ordinary layer plants can be .set with perfect safety. If the field or 
garden bed is near where the layer plants are growing, the latter can be 
taken up with earth clinging to their roots, and thus have all the advantages 
of potted plants. Even under the Southern sun, hundreds of acres are, in 
this manner, set annually in the vicinity of Charleston. 

As the autumn grows cool and moist, layer plants can be obtained 
from a distance and set out profitably in large quantities. The chief 
danger in late planting results from the tendency of the plants to be 
thrown out of the ground by the action of the frost, and a few varieties 
do not seem sufficiently hardy to endure severe cold. I obviate this 
difficulty by simply hoeing upon the plants two inches of earth, just 
before the ground freezes in November or December. This winter cover- 
ing of soil enables me to plant with entire success at any time in the 
fall — even late in November — instead of spring, when there is a rush of 
work. The earth is raked off the plants in March or April, as soon as 
severe freezing weather is over ; otherwise they would decay. Do not 
first put manure on the plants and then cover with earth — cover with 
earth only. 

Thus it will be seen that each period has its advantages, which will 
vary with different seasons. If drought and heat come in early May, 
spring-set plants may suffer badly. Again, periods in summer and 
autumn may be so hot and dry that even potted plants can only be kept 
alive by repeated waterings. My practice is to divide my plantings about 
equally between summer, fall, and spring. I thus take no chances of 
failure. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



WHAT SHALL WE PLANT? — VARIETIES, THEIR CHARACTER AND 

ADAPTATION TO SOILS. 

I HAVE in my library an admirable little treatise written by the late R. 
G. Pardee and printed twenty-five years ago. While the greater part 
of what he says, relating to the requirements of the plant and its culture, 
is substantially correct, his somewhat extended list of varieties is almost 
wholly obsolete. With the exception of Hovey's Seedling, scarcely one 
can be found in a modern catalogue. Even carefully prepared lists, made 
at a much later date, contain the names of but few kinds now seen in the 
garden or market. I have before me the catalogue of Prince & Co., 
published in 1865, and out of their list of 169 varieties but three are now 
in general cultivation, and the great majority are utterly unknown. Thus 
it would seem that a catalogue soon becomes historical, and that the 
kinds most heralded to-day may exist only in name but a few years hence. 
The reasons can readily be given. The convex heart of every strawberry 
blossom will be found to consist of pistils, and usually of stamens ranged 
around them. When both stamens and pistils are found in the same 
blossom, as is the case with most varieties, it is called a perfect flower, 
or staminate. In rare instances, strawberry flowers are found which 
possess stamens without pistils, and these are called male blossoms ; far 
more often varieties exist producing pistils only, and they are named 
pistillate kinds. Either of the last two if left alone would be barren ; the 
male flowers are always so, but the pistillate or female flowers, if fertilized 
Avith pollen from perfect-flowered plants, produce fruit. This fertilizing is 
effected by the agency of the wind, or by insects seeking honey. 



94 Success with Small Fruits. 

The ovule in the ovarium to which the stigma leads represents, at 
maturity, a seed, — the actual fruit of the strawberry, — and within each seed 
Nature, by a subtle process of her own, wraps up some of the qualities of 
the plant that produced the seed and some of the qualities also of the plant 
from which came the pollen that impregnated the ovule. This seed, planted, 
produces an entirely new variety, which, as a rule, exhibits character- 
istics of both its parents, and traits, also, of its grandparents and remote 
ancestors. The law of heredity is the same as in cattle or the human 
race. Thus it may be seen that millions of new varieties can be very 
easily obtained. A single plant-grower often raises many thousands to 
which he never gives a name, by reason of the fact — noted elsewhere 
than in the fruit garden — that most of these new strawberries in no 
respect surpass or even equal their parents. The great majority, after 
fruiting, — which they do when two years old, — are thrown away. A new 
variety which is not so good as the old ones from which it came should 
not be imposed upon the public. But they often are, sometimes deliber- 
ately, but far more often for other reasons ; as, for instance, through the 
enthusiasm of the possessor. It is his seedling ; therefore, it is wonderful. 
He pets it and gives it extra care, to which even very inferior varieties 
generously respond. 

In the same old catalogue to which I have referred, Prince & Co. 
announce: "We now offer a few of our superior new seedlings, with 
descriptions, and there is not an acid or inferior one among them. 
There is not one of them that is not superior to all the seedlings recently 
introduced." Not one of these thirty-five "superior seedlings," to my 
knowledge, is now in cultivation. They have disappeared in less than 
fifteen years, and yet I have no doubt that on the grounds of Prince 
& Co. they gave remarkable promise. 

Again, a fruit grower sends out second and third rate kinds from 
defective knowledge. He has not judiciously compared his petted seed- 
lings with the superb varieties already in existence. It is soon discovered 
by general trial that the vaunted new-comers are not so good as the old ; 
and so they also cease to be cultivated, leaving only a name. 

The editor of the Rural New Yorker has adopted a course which 
would be very useful indeed to the public, if it could be carried out in 
the various fruit-growing centers of the country. He obtains a few 
plants of every new variety offered for sale, and tests them side by side, 
under precisely the same conditions, reporting the results in his paper. 
Such records of experience are worth any amount of theory, or the half- 
truths of those who are acquainted with but few varieties. I tested fifty 



Varieties, their Character and Adaptation to Soils. 



95 




Strawberry Blossoms : Perfect- 
Flowered and Pistillate. 



kinds last year in one specimen-bed. The 
plants were treated precisely alike, and per- 
mitted to mature all their fruit, I being well 
content to let eight or ten bushels go to waste 
in order to see just what each variety could do. 
From such trial-beds the comparative merits of 
each kind can be seen at a glance. Highly 
praised new-comers, which are said to supersede 
everything, must show what they are and can do 
beside the old standard varieties that won their laurels years ago. I thus 
learn that but few can endure the test, and occasionally I find an old kind 
sent out with a new name. When visiting fruit farms in New Jersey last 
summer, I was urged to visit a small place on which was growing a 
wonderful new berry. The moment I saw the fruit and foliage, I recog- 
nized the Col. Cheney, forced into unusual luxuriance by very favor- 
able conditions. Other experienced growers, whose attention I called to 
the distinguishing marks of this variety, agreed with me at once ; but the 
proprietor, who probably had never seen the Cheney before and did not 
know where the plants came from, thought it was a remarkable new variety, 
and as such it might have been honestly sent out. Trial-beds at once 
detect the old kinds with new names, and thus may save the public 
from a vast deal of imposition. 



g6 Success zvith Small Prints. 

Such beds would also be of very great service in suggesting the varieties 
that can be grown with profit in certain localities. While the behavior of 
different kinds differs greatly in varying soils and latitudes, there is no such 
arbitrary mystery in the matter as many imagine. I am satisfied that the 
sorts which did best in my trial-bed give the best promise of success 
wherever the soil and climate are similar. In contrast, let a trial-bed be 
made on alight soil in Delaware or Virginia, and lOO varieties be planted. 
Many that are justly favorites in our locality would there shrivel and burn, 
proving valueless ; but those that did thrive and produce well, exhibiting a 
power to endure a Southern sun and to flourish in sand, should be the 
choice for all that region. To the far South and North, and in the 
extremes of the East and West, trial-beds would give still varying results ; 
but such results would apply to the soils and climate of the region if 
proper culture were given. A horse can be mismanaged on a Kentucky 
stock-farm, and there are those who would have ill luck with strawberries in 
the Garden of Eden, they are so skillful and persistent in doing the wrong 
thing. It would well remunerate large planters to maintain trial-beds of 
all the small fruits, and their neighbors could afford to pay well for the 
privilege of visiting them and learning the kinds adapted to their locality. 

I think it may be laid down as a general truth, that those kinds which 
do well on a light soil in one locality tend to do well on such soils in all 
localities. The same principle applies to those requiring heavy land. 
There will be exceptions, and but few of those containing foreign blood 
will thrive in the far South. 

In the brief limits of this chapter I shall merely offer suggestions and 
the results of some experience, premising that I give but one man's 
opinion, and that all have a right to differ from me. At the close of this 
volume may be found more accurate descriptions of the varieties that I 
have thought worth naming. 

Among the innumerable candidates for favor, here and there one will 
establish itself by persistent well-doing as a standard sort. We then 
learn that some of these strawberry princes, like the Jucunda, Triomphe 
de Gand, and President Wilder, flourish only in certain soils and latitudes, 
while others, like the Charles Downing, Monarch of the West, and Wil- 
son, adapt themselves to almost every condition and locality. Varieties 
of this class are superseded very slowly ; but it would seem, with the 
exception of Wilson's Albany, that the standards of one generation have 
not been the favorites of the next. The demand of our age is for large 
fruit. The demand has created a supply, and the old standard varieties 
have given way to a new class, of which the Monarch and Seth Boyden 



Varieties, their Char-acter ajid Adaptation to Soils. 97 

are types. The latest of these new mammoth berries is the Sharpless, 
originated by Mr. J. K. Sharpless, of Catawissa, Pa. ; and the life-size 
engraving of a cluster gives a vivid impression of the great progress made 
since horticulturists first began to develop the wild F. Virginiana by 
crossing varieties and by cultivation. 

The most accurate and extended list of varieties with which I am 
acquainted is to be found in Downing's " Encyclopaedia of Fruits and 
Fruit Trees of America." It contains the names, with their synonyms, 
and the descriptions of over 250 kinds, and to this I refer the reader. 

The important question to most minds is not how many varieties 
exist, but what kinds will give the best returns. If one possesses the 
deep, rich, moist loam that has been described, almost any good variety 
will yield a fair return, and the best can be made to give surprising 
results. For table use and general cultivation, north and south, east and 
west, I would recommend the Charles Downing, Monarch of the West, Seth 
Boyden, Kentucky Seedling, Duchess, and Golden Defiance. These 
varieties are all first-rate in quality, and they have shown a wonderful 
adaptation to varied soils and climates. They have been before the public 
a number of years, and have persistently proved their excellence. There- 
fore, they are worthy of a place in every garden. With these valuable 
varieties for our chief supply, we can try a score of other desirable kinds, 
retaining such as prove to be adapted to our taste and soil. 

If our land is heavy, we can add to the above, in Northern latitudes, 
Triomphe de Gand, Jucunda, President Wilder, Forest Rose, President 
Lincoln, Sharpless, Pioneer, and Springdale. 

If the soil is light, containing a large proportion of sand and gravel, 
the Charles Downing, Kentucky Seedling, Monarch of the West, Duchess, 
Cumberland Triumph, Miner's Prolific, Golden Defiance, and Sharpless 
will be almost certain to yield a fine supply of large and delicious berries, 
both North and South. 

Let me here observe that varieties that do well on light soils also 
thrive equally well and often better on heavy land. But the converse is 
not true. The Jucunda, for instance, can scarcely be made to exist on 
light land. In the South, it should be the constant aim to find varieties 
whose foliage can endure the hot sun. I think that the Sharpless, which 
is now producing a great sensation as well as mammoth berries, will do 
well in most Southern localities. It maintained throughout the entire 
summer the greenest and most vigorous foliage I ever saw. Miner's Pro- 
lific, Golden Defiance, Early Hudson, and Cumberland Triumph also 
appear to me peculiarly adapted to Southern cultivation. 
13 



98 



Success with Small Fruits. 




«.^^ 

\ 






fM'rf 








^''mM.m^ 

Sharplcss Seedling and Wild Strawberry. 



Varieties, their Character and Adaptation to Soils. 99 

As we go north, the difficulties of choice are not so great. Coolness 
and moisture agree with the strawberry plant. There the question of 
hardiness is to be first considered. In regions, however, where the snow 
falls early and covers the ground all winter, the strawberry is not so 
exposed as with us, for our gardens are often bare in zero weather. Usu- 
ally, it is not the temperature of the air that injures a dormant strawberry 
plant, but alternations of freezing and thawing. The deep and unmelting 
snows often enable the horticulturist to raise successfully in Canada tender 
fruits that would "winter-kill" much farther south. If abundant protec- 
tion is therefore provided, either by nature or by art, the people of the 
North can take their choice from amongr the best. In the hieh latitudes, 
early kinds will be in request, since the season of growth is brief The 
best early berries are Duchess, Bidwell, Pioneer, Early Hudson, Black 
Defiance, Duncan, Durand's Beauty, and, earliest of all. Crystal City. 
The last-named ripened first on my place in the summer of 1879, and 
although the fruit is of medium size, and rather soft, I fear, the plant is 
so vigorous and easily grown that I think it is worth general trial North 
and South. I am informed that it promises to take the lead in Missouri. 



MARKET STRAWBERRIES. 

Thus far I have named those kinds whose fine flavor and beauty entitle 
them to a place in the home garden. But with a large class, market 
qualities are more worthy of consideration ; and this phase of the question 
introduces us to some exceedingly popular varieties not yet mentioned. 
The four great requirements of a market strawberry are productiveness, 
size, a good, bright color, and — that it may endure long carriage and 
rough handling — firmness. Because of the indifference of the consumer, 
as explained in an earlier chapter, that which should be the chief consid- 
eration — flavor — is scarcely taken into account. In the present unen- 
lightened condition of the public, one of the oldest strawberries on the 
list— Wilson's Seedling — is more largely planted than all other kinds 
together. It is so enormously productive, it succeeds so well throughout 
the entire country, and is such an early berry, that, with the addition of 
its fine carrying qualities, it promises to be the great market berry for 
the next generation also. But this variety is not at all adapted to thin, 
poor land, and is very impatient of drought. In such conditions, the 
berries dwindle rapidly in size, and even dry up on the vines. Where 
abundant fertility and moisture can be maintained, the yield of a field of 



lOO Success with Small Fruits. 

Wilsons is simply marvelous. On a dry hill-side close by, the crop from 
the same variety may not pay for picking. Plantations of Wilsons should 
be renewed every two years, since the plant speedily exhausts itself, pro- 
ducing sm.aller berries with each successive season. The Wilson is perhaps 
the best berry for preserving, since it is hard and its acid is rich and not 
watery. 

A rival of the Wilson has appeared within the last few years, — the 
Crescent Seedling, also an early berry, originated by Mr. Parmalee, of 
New Haven, Conn. At first, it received unbounded praise ; now, it gets 
too much censure. It is a very distinct and remarkable variety, and, 
like the Wilson, I think, will fill an important place in strawberry culture. 
Its average size does not much exceed that of the Wilson ; its flavor, 
when fully ripe, is about equal in the estimation of those who do not 
like acid fruit. In productiveness, on many soils, it will far exceed any 
variety with which I am acquainted. It is just this capacity for growing 
on thin, poor soils — anywhere and under any circumstances — that gives 
to it its chief value. In hardiness and vitality, it is almost equal to the 
Canada thistle. The young plants are small, and the foliage is slender 
and delicate ; but they have the power to live and multiply beyond that 
of any other variety I have seen. It thrives under the suns of Georgia 
and Florida, and cares naught for the cold of Canada ; it practically 
extends the domain of the strawberry over the continent, and renders 
the laziest man in the land, who has no strawberries, without excuse. 
The cut, showing one foot of the row in my specimen-bed, indicates 
its productiveness. One of my beds yielded at the rate of 346 bushels 
to the acre, and the bright, handsome scarlet of the berries caused 
them to sell for as much in the open market as varieties of far better 
flavor. It is too soft for long carriage by rail. Those to whom flavor 
and large size are the chief considerations will not plant it, but those who 
have a near and not very fastidious market, that simply demands quantity 
and fine appearance, will grow it both largely and profitably. The 
stamens of the Crescent are so imperfectly developed that every tenth 
row in the field should be Wilsons, or some other early and perfect- 
flowered variety. 

In the Champion, we have a late market berry that is steadily growing 
in favor. On rich, moist land it is almost as productive as the Crescent. 
The fruit averages much larger than the Wilson, while its rich crimson 
color makes it very attractive in the baskets. The berries, like the two 
kinds already named, turn red before they are ripe, and in this immature 
condition their flavor is very poor, but when fully ripe they are excellent. 



Market Strawberries. 



lOI 




The transformation is almost as 
great as in a persimmon. Under 
generous culture, the Champion 
yields superb berries, that bring 
the best prices. It also does 
better than most kinds under 
neglect and drought. It is too 
soft for long carriage, and its 
blossoms are pistillate. 

Within a few years, a new 
variety named Windsor Chief has been disseminated, and the enormous 
yield of 17,000 quarts per acre has been claimed for it. It is said to be 
a seedling of the Champion fertilized with the Charles Downing variety. 
If there has been no mistake in this history of its origin, it is a remarkable 



A Row of Productive Crescent Seedlings. 



I02 Success with Small Fruits. 

instance of the reproduction of the traits of one parent only, for in no 
respect have I been able thus far to see wherein it differs from the 
Champion. 

The Captain Jack is another late variety, which is enormously pro- 
ductive of medium-sized berries. It is a great favorite in Missouri and 
some other regions. The berries carry well to market, but their flavor is 
second-rate. 

The good size, firmness, and lateness of the Glendale — a variety 
recently introduced — will probably secure for it a future as a market 
berry. 

In the South, Neunan's Prolific, or the " Charleston Berry," as it is 
usually called, is already the chief variety for shipping. It is an aromatic 
berry, and very attractive as it appears in our markets in March and 
April, but it is even harder and sourer than an unripe Wilson. When 
fully matured on the vine, it is grateful to those who like an acid berry. 
Scarcely any other kind is planted around Charleston and Savannah. 

These six varieties, or others like them, will supply the first great 
need of all large markets — quantity. With the exception of the last, 
which is not productive in the North, and requires good treatment even 
in the South, they yield largely under rough field culture. The fruit 
can be sold very cheaply and yet give a fair profit. Only a limited num- 
ber of fancy berries can be sold at fancy prices, but thousands of bushels 
can be disposed of at eight and ten cents per quart. 

Still, I would advise any one who is supplying the market, thoroughly 
to prepare and enrich an acre or more of moist but well drained land, 
and plant some of the large, showy berries, like the Sharpless, Monarch, 
and Seth Boyden. If he has heavy, rich soil, let him also try the Jucunda, 
President Lincoln, and, especially, the Triomphe de Gand. These varie- 
ties always have a ready sale, even when the market is glutted with com- 
mon fruit, and they often command very high prices. When the soil 
suits them, they frequently yield crops that are not so far below the Wil- 
son in quantity. Fifty bushels of large, handsome berries may bring as 
much, or more, than one hundred bushels of small fruit, while the labor 
and expense of shipping and picking are- reduced one-half 

I suppose that Mr. E. W. Durand, of Irvington, N. J., obtains more 
money from one acre of his highly cultivated strawberries than do many 
growers from ten acres. Mr. H. Jerolaman, of Hilton, N. J., has given 
me some accurate statistics that well illustrate my meaning. " My yield," 
he writes, in 1877, "from one acre, planted chiefly with the Seth Boyden, 
was 327 bushels 15^ quarts, which were sold for $1,386.21. A strict 



Market Strawberries. 103 

account was kept. Since that time, I have been experimenting with Mr. 
Durand's large berries, and have not done so well. In 1878, I obtained 
$1,181 from one acre, one half planted with the Seth Boyden and the 
other with the Great American. The year of 1879 was my poorest. 
Nearly all my plants were Great American and Beauty, and the yield was 
121 bushels, selling for $728. The average cost per acre, for growing, 
picking, marketing, and manure, is $350. I am not satisfied but that I 
shall have to return to the old Seth Boyden in order to keep taking the 
first State premiums, as I have done for the past three years." 

This record of experience shows what can be done with the choice 
varieties if an appreciative market is within reach, and one will give 
the high culture they demand. Last summer a neighbor of mine obtained 
eighteen cents per quart for his Monarch strawberries, when Wilsons 
brought but ten cents. At the same time, these superb varieties often 
do not pay at all under poor field culture and in matted rows. We may 
also note, in passing, how slowly fine old standard kinds, like the Boy- 
den, are superseded by new varieties. 

I should not be at all surprised if the Charles Downing became 
one of the most popular market strawberries of the future. It is 
already taking the lead in many localities. It is moderately firm — 
sufficiently so, with a little extra care, to reach most markets in good 
condition. It is more easily raised than the Wilson, and on thin, dry 
land is more productive. A bed will last, if kept clean, four or five 
years Jnstead of two, and yield better the fifth year than the first. 
Although the fruit is but of medium size, it is so fine in flavor that 
it has only to be known to create a steady demand. The Kentucky 
Seedling is another berry of the same class, and has the same general 
characteristics — with this exception, that it is a very late berry. In 
flavor, it is melting and delicious. It does well on almost any soil, even a 
light and sandy one, and is usually very productive. These two old stand- 
ard varieties which arch the title-page might also arch the continent, for 
they bring most of the best qualities of the best of fruits within reach 
of every market and home in the land. 

The best white strawberry I have ever seen is Lennig's White. 
When exposed to the sun, it has a decided pink flush on one side. It 
is beautiful and delicious, and so aromatic that a single berry will per- 
fume a large apartment. The fruit is exceedingly delicate, but the plant 
is a shy bearer. 

In the White and Red Alpines, especially the ever-bearing varieties, 
and in the Hautbois class, we have very distinct strawberries that are well 



I04 Success zvith Small Fruits. 

worthy of a place in the garden. From a commercial point of view, 
they have no value. This may settle the question with some, but not 
a few of us like to plant many things that are never to go to market. 
In conclusion, if I were asked what is the most beautiful and delicious 
strawberry in existence, I should name the President Wilder. Perfect 
in flavor, form and beauty, it seems to unite in one exquisite compound 
the best qualities of the two great strawberry species of the world, the 
F. Virginiana and the F. Chileiisis. The only fault that I have ever 
discovered is that, in many localities, it is not productive. No more 
do diamonds lie around like cobble-stones. It is, however, fairly pro- 
ductive under good culture and on most soils, and yet it is possible 
that not one in a hundred of the habitues of Delmonico's has ever 
tasted it. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



SETTING OUT PLANTS. 



WE may secure good plants of the best varieties, but if we do not set 
them out properly, the chances are against our success, unless the 
weather is very favorable. So much depends on a right start in life, 
even in a strawberry bed. There are no abstruse difficulties in properly 
imbedding a plant. One would think that, if a workman gave five 
minutes' thought and observation to the subject, he would know exactly 
how to do it. If one used his head as well as his hands, it would be 
perfectly obvious that a plant held (as in Figure e) with its roots spread 
out so that the fresh, moist earth could come in contact with each fiber, 
would stand a far better chance than one set out by any of the other 
methods illustrated. And yet, in spite of all I can do or say, I have never 
been able to prevent very many of my plants from being set (as in 
Figure a) too deeply, so that the crown and tender leaves were covered 
and smothered with earth; or (as in Figure d) not deeply enough, thus 
leaving the roots exposed. Many others bury the roots in a long, tangled 
bunch, as in Figure c. If one would observe how a plant starts on its 
new career, he would see that the roots we put in the ground are little 
more than a base of operations. All along their length, and at their 
ends, little white rootlets start, if the conditions are favorable, almost 
immediately. If the roots are huddled together, so that only a few 
outside ones are in contact with the life-giving soil, the conditions are, 
of course, most unfavorable. Again, many planters are guilty of the folly 
14 ■ 105 



io6 



Success with Small Fruits. 



illustrated in Figure d. They hastily scoop out a shallow hole, in which 
the roots, which should be down in the cool depths of the soil, curve 
like a half-circle toward or to the very surface. 

In the most favorable weather of early spring, a plant is almost certain 
to grow, no matter how greatly abused, but even then it does far better if 





Wrong Methods of Planting. 

treated properly, while at other seasons nature cannot be stupidly ignored. 
It is almost as easy to set out a plant correctly as otherwise. Let the 
excavation be made deep enough to put the roots, spread out like a fan, 
down their whole length into the soil. Hold the plant with the left hand, 
as in Figure e. First, half fill the hole with fine rich earth with the right 
hand, and press it firmly against the roots ; next, fill it evenly, and then, 
with the thumb and finger of both hands, put your whole weight on the 
soil on each side of the plant — as close to it as possible — and press until 
the crown or point from which the leaves start is just even with the 
surface. If you can pull the plant up again by its leaves, it is not firm 
enough in the ground. If a man uses brain and eye, he can learn to 

work very rapidly. By one dexterous movement, 
he scoops the excavation with a trowel. By a 
second movement, he makes the earth firm 
against the lower half of the roots. By a third 
movement, he fills the excavation and settles the 
plant into its final position. One workman will 
often plant twice as many as another, and not 
work any harder. Negro women at Norfolk, 
Virginia, paid at fifty cents per day, 'will often 
set two or three thousand. Many northern 
laborers, who ask more than twice that sum, will not set half as many 
plants. I have been told of one man, however, who could set i,ooo per 
hour. I should examine his work carefully, however, in the fear that it 
was not well done. 




The Proper Method. 



Setting out Plants. 



107 



If the ground is so flat that water hes upon it in wet seasons, then 
throw it up into beds with a plow, thus giving the plants a broad, level 
surface on which to grow ; for I think the best success will generally be 
obtained with level culture, or as near an approach to it as possible. 

Always make it a point to plant in moist, freshly stirred earth. Never 
let the roots come in contact with dry, lumpy soil. Never plant when the 
ground is wet and sticky, unless it be at the beginning of a rain-storm 
which bids fair to continue for some time. If sun or wind strikes land 
which has been recently stirred while it is too wet, the hardness of mortar 
results. 

In spring, it is best to shorten in the roots one-third. This promotes 
a rapid growth of new rootlets, and therefore of the plants. In the sum- 
mer and fall, the young plants are not so well furnished with roots, and 
usually it is best to leave them uncut. 

It often happens that during long transportation the roots become 
sour, black, and even a little 
moldy. In this case, wash 
them in clean water from which 
the chill has been taken. Trim 
carefully, taking off the black- 
ened, shriveled ends. Sprinkle 
a couple of table-spoonfuls of 
fine bone meal immediately 
about the plant after setting, 
and then water it. If the 
weather is warm, soak the 
ground and keep it moist until 
there is rain. Never let a plant 
falter or go back from lack of 
moisture. 

How often should one water? 
Often enough to kepp the ground moist all the time, night and 
day. There is nothing mechanical in taking care of a young plant 
any more than in the care of a baby. Simply give it what it needs 
until it is able to take care of itself The plant may require a 
little watching and attention for a few days in warm weather. If an 
opportune storm comes, the question of growth is settled favorably at 
once ; but if a "dry spell" ensues, be vigilant. At nine o'clock A. M., even 
well-watered plants may begin to wilt, showing that they require shade, 
which may be su'^plied by inverted flower-pots, old berry-baskets, 




Root Pruninj 



lo8 Success with Small Fruits. 

shingles or boards. A handful of weeds, grass, or even of dry earth, thrown 
on the crown of the plant in the morning, and removed by five P. M., is 
preferable to nothing. Anything is better than stolidly sticking a plant in 
the ground and leaving it alone just long enough to die. Many, on the 
other hand, kill their plants with kindness. They dose the young things 
with guano, unfermented manure, and burn them up. Coolness, moisture 
and shade are the conditions for a new start in life. 

As has been explained already, pot-grown plants, with a ball of earth 
clinging to their roots, can be set out during the hot months with great 
ease, and with little danger of loss. At the same time, let me distinctly say 
that such plants require fair treatment. The ground should be " firmed " 
around them just as strongly, and they should be so well watched as to 
guard against the slightest wilting from heat and drought. 

In ordinary field culture, let the rows be three feet apart, and let the 
plants stand one foot from each other in the row. At this distance, 14,520 
are required for an acre. When land is scarce, the rows can be two and a 
half feet from each other. In garden culture, where the plow and cultiva- 
tor will not be used, there should be two feet between the rows, and the 
plants should be one foot apart as before With this rule in mind, any one 
can readily tell how many plants he will need for a given area. 



CHAPTER XV. 



CULTIVATION. 



THE field for experiment in cultivation with different fertilizers, soils, 
climates and varieties is indeed a wide one, and yet for practical 
purposes the question is simple enough. 

There are three well-known systems of cultivation, each of which 
has its advantages and disadvantages. The first is termed the " matted 
bed system." Under this plan the ground between the rows is culti- 
vated and kept clean during the spring and early summer. As soon, 
however, as the new runners begin to push out vigorously, cultivation 
ceases, or else, with the more thorough, the cultivator is narrowed 
down till it stirs scarcely more than a foot of surface, care being taken 
to go up one row and down another, so as always to draw the runners 
one way. This prevents them from being tangled up and broken off. 
By winter, the entire ground is covered with plants, which are pro- 
tected, as will be explained further on. In the spring, the coarsest of 
the covering is raked off, and between the rows is dug a space about 
a foot or eighteen inches wide, which serves as a path for the pickers. 
This path is often cheaply and quickly made by throwing two light 
furrows together with a corn plow. Under this system, the first crop 
is usually the best, and in strong lands adapted to grasses the beds 
often become so foul that it does not pay to leave them to bear a 
second year. If so, they are plowed under as soon as the fruit has 
been gathered. More often two crops are taken, and then the land 




iio Success with Small Fruits. 

is put in some other crop for a year or two before being planted 
with strawberries again. This rude, inexpensive system is perhaps 
more followed than any other. It is best adapted to light soils and 
cheap lands. Where an abundance of cool fertilizers has been 
-^-c; used, or the ground 

has been generously 
prepared with green 
crops, plowed under, 
the yield is often 
large and profitable. 
But as often it is 
~— _ quite the reverse, es- 
pecially if the season 
proves dry and hot. 

^■^ Matted Bed System. Usually, plants Sod- 

ded together cannot 
mature fine fruit, especially after they have exhausted half their vitality 
in running. In clayey loams, the surface in the matted rows becomes 
as hard as a brick. Light showers make little impression on it, and 
the fruit often dries upon the vines. Remembering that the straw- 
berry's chief need is moisture, it will be seen that it can scarcely be 
maintained in a hard-matted sod. Under this system, the fruit is 
small at best, and it all matures together. If adopted in the garden, 
the family has but a few days of berries instead of a few weeks. 
The marketman may find his whole crop ripening at a time of over- 
supply, and his small berries may scarcely pay for picking. To 
many of this class the cheapness of the system will so commend itself 
that they will continue to practice it until some enterprising neighbor 
teaches them better, by his larger cash returns. In the garden, however, 
it is the most expensive method. When the plants are sodded together, 
the hoe and fork cannot be used. The whole space must be weeded by 
hand, and there are some pests whose roots interlace horizontally above 
and below the ground, and which cannot be eradicated from the matted 
rows. Too often, therefore, even in the neatest garden, the strawberry 
bed is the place where vegetable evil triumphs. 

There are modifications of this system that are seen to better advan- 
tage on paper than in the field or garden. The one most often described 
in print — I have never seen it working successfully — may be termed the 
" renewal system." Instead of plowing the matted beds under, after the 
first or second crop, the paths between the beds are enriched and spaded 



Cultivation. 



Ill 



or plowed. The old plants are allowed to fill these former paths with new 
plants ; which process being completed, the old matted beds are turned 
under, and the new plants that have taken the places of the paths bear the 
fruit of the coming year. But, suppose the old beds have within them 
sorrel, white clover, wire-grass, and a dozen other perennial enemies, what 
practical man does not know that these pests will fill the vacant spaces 
faster than can the strawberry plants ? There is no chance for cultivation 
by hoe or horse-power. Only frequent and laborious weedings by hand 
can prevent the evil, and this but partially, for, as has been said, the roots 
of many weeds are out of reach unless there is room for the fork, hoe, or 
cultivator to go beneath them. 

In direct contrast with the above is the "hill system." This, in brief, 
may be suggested by saying that the strawberry plants are set out three 
feet — more or less — apart, and treated like hills of corn, with the excep- 
tion that the ground is kept level, or should be. They are often so 
arranged that the cultivator can pass between them each way, thus obvi- 
ating nearly all necessity for hand work. When carried out to such an 
extent, I consider this plan more objectionable than the former, especially 
at the North. In the first place, when the plants are so distant from each 
other, much of the ground is left unoccupied and unproductive. In the 
second place, the fruit grower is at the mercy of the strawberry's worst 
enemy, the LacJmosterna, or white grub. Few fields in our region are 
wholly free from them, and a few of the voracious pests would leave the 
ground bare, for they devour the roots all summer long. In the third 
place, where so much of the ground is unoccupied, the labor of mulching, 
so that the soil can be kept moist and the fruit clean, is very great. 

In small garden-plots, when the plants can be set only two feet apart 
each way, the results of this system are often most admirable. The entire 
spaces between them can be kept mellow and loose, and therefore moist. 
There is room to dig out and eradicate the roots of the worst weeds. By 
frequently raking the ground over, the annual weeds do not get a chance 
to start. In the rich soil, the plants make great, bushy crowns that nearly 
touch each other, and as they begin to blossom, the whole space between 
them can be mulched with straw, grass, etc. The runners can easily be 
cut away when the plants are thus isolated. Where there are not many 
white grubs in the soil, the hill system is well adapted to meet garden 
culture, and the result, in a prolonged season of large, beautiful fruit, will 
be most satisfactory. Moreover, the berries, being exposed on all sides 
to the sun, will be of the best flavor. 

In the South, the hill system is the only one that can be adopted to 



112 



Success with Small Fruits. 



advantage. There the plants are set in the summer and autumn, and the' 
crop is taken from them the following spring. Therefore, each plant must 
be kept from running, and be stimulated to do its best within a given 
space of time. In the South, however, the plants are set but one foot 
apart in the rows, and thus little space is lost. 

I am satisfied that the method best adapted to our eastern and western 
conditions is what is termed the " narrow row system," believing that it 
will give the greatest amount of fine fruit with the least degree of trouble 
and expense. The plants are set one foot from each other in line, and not 
allowed to make runners. In good soil, they will touch each other after 
one year's growth, and make a continuous bushy row. The spaces between 







Narrow Row and Hill Systems. 



the rows may be two and a half to three feet. Through these spaces the 
cultivator can be run as often as you please, and the ground can be thus 
kept clean, mellow and moist. The soil can be worked — not deeply, of 
course — within an inch or two of the plants, and thus but little space is 
left for hand-weeding. I have found this latter task best accomplished by 
a simple tool made of a fork-tine, with a section of the top left attached, 
thus : T- Old broken forks can thus be utilized. This tool can 
be thrust deeply between the plants without disturbing many roots, 
and the most stubborn weed can be pried out. Under this system, 
the ground is occupied to the fullest extent that is profitable. The 
berries are exposed to light and air on either side, and mulch can be 



Citltivatioii. 



113 



applied with the least degree of trouble. The feeding-ground for the roots 
can be kept mellow by horse-power ; if irrigation is adopted, the spaces 
between the rows form the natural channels for the water. Chief of all, 
it is the most successful way of fighting the white grub. These enemies 
are not found scattered evenly through the soil, but abound in patches. 
Here they can be dug out if not too numerous, and the plants allowed to 
run and fill up the gaps. To all intents and purposes, the narrow row 
system is hill culture with the evils of the latter subtracted. Even where 
it is not carried out accurately, and many plants take root in the rows, 
most of them will become large, strong and productive, under the hasty 
culture which destroys the greater number of the side-runners. 

Where this system is fairly tried, the improvement in the quality, 
size, and, therefore, measuring bulk of the crop, is 
astonishing. This is especially true of some varie- 
ties, like the Duchess, which, even in a matted bed, 
tends to stool out into great bushy plants. 
The cut shows how enormously productive 
it becomes under this system. Doctor 

Thurber, editor of the Ama 

ican Agriculturist, unhesi 

tatingly pronounced it th 

most productive and besi 

early variety in my speci 

men -bed, containing fift'' 











A Duchess Row and Berrv. 



different kinds. If given a chance to develop its stooling-out quahties, it 
is able to compete even with the Crescent and Wilson in productiveness. 
At the same time, its fruit becomes large, and as regular in shape as if 
15 



114 



Success with Small Fndts. 



turned with a lathe. Many who have never tried this system would be 
surprised to find what a change for the better it makes in the old popular 
kinds, like the Charles Downing, Kentucky and Wilson. The Golden 
Defiance, also, which is so vigorous in the matted beds that weeds stand 
but little chance before it, almost doubles in size and productiveness if 
restricted to a narrow row. 

The following remarks will have reference to this system, as I consider 
it the best. We will start with plants that have just been set out. If 
fruit is our aim, we should remember that the first and strongest impulse 
of each plant will be to propagate itself; but to the degree that it does so, 
it lessens its own vitality and power to produce berries the following 
season. Therefore, every runner that a plant makes means so much less 
and so much smaller fruit from that plant. Remove the runners as 
they appear, and the life of the plant goes to make vigorous foHage 
and a correspondingly large fruit bud. The sap is stored up as a miller 
collects and keeps for future use the water of a stream. Moreover, a 
plant thus curbed abounds in vitality and does not throw down its 
burden of prematurely ripe fruit after a few hot days. It works evenly 
and continuously, as strength only can, and leisurely perfects the last berry 
on the vines. You will often find blossoms and ripe fruit on the same 
plant — something rarely seen where the plants are crowded and the soil 
dry. I have had rows of Triomphe de Gand in bearing for seven weeks. 

With these facts before us, the culture of strawberries is simple 
enough. A few days after planting, as soon as it is evident that they 
will live, stir the surface just about them not more than half an inch deep. 
Insist on this ; for most workmen will half hoe them out of the ground. 
A fine-tooth rake is one of the best tools for stirring the surface merely. 
After the plants become well rooted, keep the ground mellow and clean as 
you would between any other hoed crop, using horse-power as far as possi- 
ble, since it is the cheapest and most effective. If the plants have been 
set out in spring, take off the fruit buds as soon as they appear. Unless 
the plants are very strong, and are set out very early, fruiting the same 
year means feebleness and often death. If berries are wanted within a 
year, the plants must be set in summer or autumn. Then they can be 
permitted to bear all they will the following season. A child with a 
pair of shears or a knife, not too dull, can easily keep a large garden-plot 
free from runners, unless there are long periods of neglect. Half an 
hour's work once a week, in the cool of the evening, will be sufficient. A 
boy paid at the rate of twenty-five cents a day can keep acres clipped 
if he tries. 



CiUtivation. 



ii;. 



If the ground were poor, or one were desirous of large fruit, it would 
be well to give a liberal autumn top-dressing of fine compost or any well- 
rotted fertilizer not containing crude lime. Bone dust and wood ashes. 
are excellent. Scatter this along the rows, and hoe it in the last time 
they are cultivated in the fall. 

With the exception of guano and other quick-acting stimulants, I 
believe in fall top-dressing. The melting snows and March rains carry 
the fertilizing properties down to the roots, which begin growing and feed- 
ing very early in spring. If compost or barn-yard manure is used, it 
aids in protecting the plants during the winter, warms and mellows the 
soil, and starts them into a prompt, vigorous growth, thus enabling them 
to store up sufficient vitality in the cool growing season to produce large 
fruit in abundance. If top-dressings are applied in the spring, and a 
dry period follows, they scarcely reach the roots in time to aid in forming 
the fruit buds. The crop of the following year, however, will be increased. 
Of course, it is far better to top-dress the rows in spring than not at 
all. I only wish to suggest that usually the best results are obtained 
by doing this work in the fall ; and this would be true especially of heavy 
soils. 

When the ground begins to freeze, protect the plants for the winter 
by covering the rows lightly with straw, leaves, or — better than all — 
with light, strawy horse-manure, that has been piled up to heat and turned 
over once or twice, so that in its violent fermentation all grass seeds have 
been killed. Do not cover so heavily as to smother the plants, nor so lightly 
that the wind and rains will dissipate the mulch. Your aim is not to 
keep the plants from freezing, but from freezing and thawing with every 
alternation of our variable winters and springs. On ordinarily dry land,, 
two or three inches of light material is sufficient. Moreover, the thaw- 
ing out of the fruit buds or crown, under the direct rays of the sun, 
injures them, I think. Most of the damage is done in February and 
March. The good gardener watches his plants, adds to the covering 
where it has been washed away or is insufficient, and drains off puddles, 
which are soon fatal to all the plants beneath them. Wet ground, 
moreover, heaves ten times as badly as that which is dry. If one 
neglects to do these things, he may find half of the plants thrown out 
of the ground, after a day or two of alternate freezing and thawing. 
Good drainage alone, with three or four inches of covering of light 
material, can prevent this, although some varieties, like the Golden 
Defiance, seem to resist the heaving action of frost remarkably. Never 
cover with hot, heavy manure, nor too deeply with leaves, as the rains beat 



Ii6 Success with Small Fruits. 

these down too flatly. Let the winter mulch not only cover the row, 
but reach a foot on either side. 

Just before very cold weather begins, — from the middle of November 
to December ist, in our latitude, — we may, if we choose, cover our beds 
so deeply with leaves, or litter of some kind, as to keep out the frost com- 
pletely. We thus may be able to dig plants on mild winter days and 
early spring, in case we have orders from the far South. This heavy 
covering should be lightened sufficiently early in the spring to prevent 
smothering. Plants well protected have a fine green appearance early in 
spring, and, even if no better, will give much better satisfaction than those 
whose leaves are sere and black from frost. 

As the weather begins to grow warm in March, push aside the cover- 
ing a little from the crown of the plants, so as to let in air. If early fruit 
is desired, the mulch can be raked aside and the ground worked between 
the rows, as soon as danger of severe frosts is over. If late fruit is 
wanted, let in air to the crown of the plants, but leave the mulch on the 
ground, which is thus shielded from the sun, warm showers, and the south 
wind, for two or three weeks. 

I have now reached a point at which I differ from most horticultural 
writers. As a rule, it is advised that there be no spring cultivation of 
bearing plants. It has been said that merely pushing the winter mulch 
aside sufficiently to let the new growth come through is all that is needed. 
I admit that the results are often satisfactory under this method, especially 
if there has been deep, thorough culture in the fall, and if the mulch 
between and around the plants is very abundant. At the same time, I 
have so often seen unsatisfactory results that I take a decided stand 
in favor of spring cultivation, if done properly and sufficiently early. I 
think my reasons will commend themselves to practical men. Even where 
the soil has been left mellow by fall cultivation, the beating rains and the 
weight of melting snows pack the earth. All loamy land settles and 
tends to grow hard after the frost leaves it. While the mulch checks this 
tendency, it cannot wholly prevent it. As a matter of fact, the spaces 
between the rows are seldom thoroughly loosened late in the fall. The 
mulch too often is scattered over a comparatively hard surface, which by 
the following June has become so solid as to suffer disastrously from 
drought in the blossoming and bearing season. I have seen well- mulched 
fields with their plants faltering and wilting, unable to mature the crop 
because the ground had become so hard that an ordinary shower could 
make but little impression. Moreover, even if kept moist by the mulch, 
land long shielded from sun and air tends to become sour, heavy, and 



Cultivation. 



117 



devoid of that life which gives vitahty and vigor to the plant. The winter 
mulch need not be laboriously raked from the garden-bed or field, and 
then carted back again. Begin on one side of a plantation and rake toward 
the other, until three or four rows and the spaces between them are bare ; 
then fork the spaces or run the cultivator — often the subsoil plow — 
deeply through them, and then immediately, before the moist, newly 
made surface dries, rake the winter mulch back into its place as a summer 
mulch. Then take another strip and treat it in like manner, until the 
generous impulse of spring air and sunshine has been given to the soil of 
the entire plantation. 

The cut, giving a section of my specimen-bed, shows one row 
still under its winter covering, one cultivated and ready for the summer 



f 



111 i» "tnm imn r- 




Three Rows, illustrating early Spring Work. 

mulch, and the third row with this applied, and the plants ready for fruiting. 
A liberal coat of fine compost was forked in also at the same time, and the 
resulting crop was enormous. This spring cultivation should be done 
early — as soon as possible after the ground is dry enough to work. The 
roots of a plant or tree should never be seriously disturbed in the blos- 
soming or bearing period, and yet I would rather stir the surface, even 
when my beds were in full bloom, than leave it hard, baked and dry ; for, 
heed this truth well — unless a plant, from the time it blossoms until the 
fruit matures, has an abundance of moisture, it will fail in almost the 
exact proportion that" moisture fails. A liberal summer mulch under and 
around the plants not only keeps the fruit clean, but renders a watering 



1 1 8 Success with Small Fruits. 

much more lasting, by shielding the soil from the sun. Never sprinkle the 
plants a little in dry weather. If you water at all, soak the ground and 
keep it moist all the time till the crop matures. Insufficient watering will 
injure and perhaps destroy the best of beds ; but this subject and that 
of irrigation will be treated in a later chapter. 

When prize berries are sought, enormous fruit can be obtained by the 
use of liquid manure, but it should be applied with skill and judgment, or 
else its very strength may dwarf the plants. In this case, also, all the 
little green berries, save the three or four lowest ones, may be picked from 
the fruit truss, and the force of the plant will be expended in maturing a 
few mammoth specimens. Never seek to stimulate with plaster or lime, 
directly. Other plants' meat is the strawberry's poison in respect to the 
immediate action of these two agents. Horse manure composted with 
muck, vegetable mold, wood ashes, bone meal, and, best of all, the product 
of the cow-stable, if thoroughly decayed and incorporated with the soil, 
will probably give the largest strawberries that can be grown, if steady 
moisture, but not wetness, is maintained. 

Many advise the mowing off of the old foliage after the fruit has been 
gathered. I doubt the wisdom of this practice. The crowns of the plants 
and the surface of the bed are laid open to the midsummer sun. The 
foliage is needed to sustain or develop the roots. In the case of a few 
petted and valuable plants, it might be well to take off some of the old dying 
leaves, but it seems reasonable to think that the wholesale destruction of 
healthful foliage must be a severe blow to the vitality of the plants. Still, 
the beds should not be left to weeds and drought. Neglect would be 
ungracious, indeed, just after receiving such delicious gifts. I would 
advise that the coarsest of the mulch be raked off and stored for winter 
covering, and then the remainder forked very lightly or cultivated into the 
soil, as a fertilizer, immediately after a soaking rain, but not when the 
ground is dry. Do not disturb the roots of a plant during a dry period. 
Many advise a liberal manuring after the fruit is gathered. This is the 
Enghsh method, and is all right in their humid climate, but dangerous 
in our land of hot suns and long droughts. Dark-colored fertilizers 
absorb and intensify the heat. A sprinkling of bone dust can be used 
to advantage as a summer stimulant, and stronger manures, contain- 
ing a larger per cent, of nitrogen, can be applied just before the late fall 
rains. A plant just after bearing needs rest. 

After fruiting, the foliage of some of our best kinds turns red and 
seemingly burns and shrivels away. This is not necessarily a disease, 
but merely the decay of old leaves which have fulfilled their mission. 



Cultivation. 



119 



From the crown a new and vigorous growth wiU eventually take their 
place. 

When one is engaged in the nursery business, the young plants 
form a crop far more valuable than the fruit. Therefore, every effort is 
made to increase the number of runners rather than to destroy them. 
Stimulating manures, which promote a growth of vines rather than of 




The Wilson Strawberry. 



Boy Weeding 



fruit, are the most useful. The process of rooting is often greatly 
hastened by layering ; that is, by pressing the incipient plant forming 
on the runner into the soil, and by laying on it a pebble or lump of 
earth to keep it in its place. When a bed is closely covered with 
young plants that have not taken root, a top-dressing of fine compost 



I20 Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

will greatly hasten their development. Moisture is even more essential 
to the nurseryman than to the fruit grower, and he needs it especially 
during the hot months of July, August and September, for it is then 
that the new crop of plants is growing. Therefore, his need of damp 
but well-drained ground ; and if the means of irrigation are within his 
reach, he may accomplish wonders, and can take two or three crops of 
plants from the same area in one season. 

While the growing of strawberry plants may be very profitable, it 
must be expensive, since large areas must be laboriously weeded by 
hand several times in the season. Instead of keeping the spaces between 
the rows clear, for the use of horse-power, it is our aim to have them 
covered as soon as possible with runners and young plants. The Golden 
Defiance, Crescent Seedling and a few others will keep pace with most 
weeds, and even master them ; but nearly all varieties require much help 
in the unequal fight, or our beds become melancholy examples of the 
survival of the unfittest. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



A SOUTHERN STRAWBERRY FARM, AND METHODS OF CULTURE 

IN THE SOUTH. 

HAVING treated of the planting of strawberries, their cultivation, and 
kindred topics, in that great northern belt, of which a line drawn 
through New York city may be regarded as the center, I shall now 
suggest characteristics in the culture of this fruit in southern latitudes. 
We need not refer to the oldest inhabitant, since the middle-aged 
remember when even the large cities of the North Avere supplied from the 
fields in the suburbs, and the strawberry season in town was identical 
with that of the surrounding country. But a marvelous change has taken 
place, and berries from southern climes appear in our markets soon after 
midwinter. This early supply is becoming one of the chief industries of 
the South Atlantic coast, and every year increases its magnitude. At 
one time, southern New Jersey furnished the first berries, but Maryland, 
Delaware, and Virginia soon began to compete. Norfolk early took the 
lead in this trade, and even before the war was building up a fine 
business. That event cut off our Southern supply, and for a few years 
June and strawberries again came together. But after the welcome peace, 
many Southern fields grew red once more, but not with blood, and 
thronged, but chiefly by women and children. Soil, cHmate, and superb 
water communications speedily restored to Norfolk the vantage which she 
will probably maintain ; but fleet steamers are giving more southern ports 
a chance. Charleston, South Carolina, is second only in importance. In 

I 6 121 



122 Success with Small Fruits. 

the spring of '79, every week four steamers were loaded for New York, 
and strawberries formed no insignificant proportion of the freight. 
Indeed, the supply from Charleston was so large that the price in April 
scarcely repaid the cost of some shipments. The proprietor of a commis- 
sion house, largely engaged in the southern fruit trade, told me he 
thought that about one-third as many strawberries came from Charleston 
as from Norfolk. From careful inquiries made on the ground, I am led 
to believe — if it has not already attained this position — that Norfolk is 
rapidly becoming the largest strawberry center in the v/orld, though 
Charleston is unquestionably destined to become its chief rival in the 
South. The latter city, however, has not been able to monopolize the 
far southern trade, and never have I seen a finer field of strawberries 
than was shown me in the suburbs of Savannah. It consisted of a 
square of four acres, set with Neunan's Prolific, the celebrated Charleston 
berry. 

And now Florida, with its unrivaled oranges, is beginning to furnish 
tons of strawberries, that begin ripening in our midwinter ; and, with its 
quick, sandy soil and sunny skies, threatens to render the growing of this 
fruit under glass unprofitable. I saw last winter, at Mandarin, quite an 
extensive strawberry farm, under the care of Messrs. Bowen Brothers, and 
was shown their skillful appliances for shipping the fruit. At Jacksonville, 
also, Captain William James is succeeding finely in the culture of some of 
our northern varieties, the Seth Boyden taking the lead. 

I think I can better present the characteristics of strawberry culture in 
the South by aiming to give a graphic picture of the scenes and life on a 
single farm, than is possible by general statements of what I have witnessed 
here and there. I have therefore selected for description a plantation at 
Norfolk, since this city is the center of the largest trade, and nearly midway 
in the Atlantic strawberry belt. I am also led to make this choice because 
here is to be found, I believe, the largest strawberry farm in the world, and 
its varied labors illustrate most of the southern aspects of the question. 

The reader may imagine himself joining our little party on a lovely 
afternoon about the middle of May. We took one of the fine, stanch 
steamers of the Old Dominion line at three P. M., and soon were enjoying, 
with a pleasure that never palls, the sail from the city to the sea. Our 
artistic leader, whose eye and taste were to illumine and cast a glamour over 
my otherwise matter-of-fact text, was all aglow with the varied beauties 
of the scene, and he faced the prospect beyond the " Hook " with no more 
misgivings than if it were a " painted ocean." But there are occasions 
when the most heroic courage is of no avail. 



Methods of Culture in the South. 123 

Only in the peace and beauty that crowned the closing hours of the 
day, as we steamed past Fortress Monroe and up the Elizabeth river, did 
the prosaic fade out of the hours just past, and now before us was the 
" sunny South " and strawberries and cream. 

In the night there was a steady downfall of rain, but sunshine came 
with the morning, and we found that the spring we had left at the North 
was summer here, and saw that the season was moving forward with 
quickened and elastic tread. Before the day grew warm, we started 
from our hotel at Norfolk for the strawberry plantation, rattling and 
bouncing past comfortable and substantial homes, over a pavement that 
surpassed even the ups and downs of fortune. Here and there, sur- 
rounded by a high brick wall, would be seen a fine old mansion, 
embowered in a wealth of shrubbery and foliage that gave, even in the 
midst of the city, a suburban seclusion. The honeysuckle and roses are 
at home in Norfolk, and their exquisite perfume floated to us across the 
high garden fences. Thank heaven ! some of the best things in the 
world cannot be walled in. St. Paul's Church and quaint old burying- 
ground, shadowed by trees, festooned with vines and gemmed with 
flowers, seemed so beautiful, as we passed, that we thought its influence 
on the secular material life of the people must be almost as good 
through the busy week as on the Sabbath. 

The houses soon grew scattering, and the wide, level, open country 
stretched away before us, its monotony broken here and there by groves 
of pine. The shell road ceased and our wheels now passed through 
many deep puddles, which in Virginia seem sacred, since they are pre- 
served year after year in exactly the same places. A more varied class 
of vehicles than we met from time to time would scaixely be seen on 
any other road in the country. There were stylish city carriages and 
buggies, grocer and express wagons, great lumbering market trucks 
laden with barrels of early cabbages, spring wagons, drawn by mules, 
piled up with crates from many a strawberry field in the interior, and 
so, on the descending scale, till we reach the two-wheeled, primitive carts 
drawn by cows — all converging toward some northern steamer, whose 
capacious maw was ready to receive the produce of the country. We had 
not proceeded very far before we saw in the distance a pretty cottage, 
sheltered by a group of tall, primeval pines, and on the right of it a large 
barn-like building, with a dwelling, office, smithy, sheds, etc., grouped 
about it. A previous visit enabled me to point out the cottage as the 
home of the proprietor, and to explain that the seeming barn was a straw- 
berry crate manufactory. As was the case on large plantations in the 



1.24 



Success zvitJi Small Fniits. 



olden time, almost everything required in the business is made on the 
place, and nearly every mechanical trade has a representative in Mr. 
Young's 'employ. 

As we drove up under the pines, the proprietor of the farm wel- 
comed us with a cordial hospitality, which he may have acquired in 




The Home Field and Mr. Young's Cottage. 

part from his residence in the South. On the porch stood a slender 
lady, whose girlish grace and delicate beauty at once captivated the 
artists of our party. 

There was the farm we had come to see, stretching away before us in 
hundreds of green, level acres. As we drove to a distant field in which 
the pickers were then engaged, we could see the ripening berries with one 
side blushing toward the sun. Passing a screen of pines, we came out 
into a field containing thirteen acres of Wilson strawberries, and then 
more fully began to realize the magnitude of the business. Scattered 
over the wide area, in what seemed inextricable confusion to our uniniti- 
ated eyes, were hundreds of men,^ women, and children of all . ages and 
shades of color, and from the field at large came a softened din of voices, 
above the monotony of which arose here and there snatches of song, 
laughter mellowed by distance, and occasionally the loud, sharp orders of 
the overseers, who stalked hither and thither, wherever their " little brief 
authority " was most in requisition. 

We soon noted that the confusion was more apparent than real, and 
that each picker was given a row over which he — or, more often, she — 
bent with busy fingers until it was finished. At central points crates 
were piled up, and men known as "buyers" received the round quart 
baskets from the trays of the pickers, while wide platform carts, drawn 
by mules, were bringing empty crates and carrying away those that had 
been filled. 



Methods of C?iltiirc in the South. 



125 



Along the road that skirted the field, and against a pretty background , 
of half-grown pines, motley forms and groups were moving to and fro, 
some seeking the " buyers " with full trays, others returning to their 
stations in the field with a new supply of empty baskets. Some of the 
pickers were drifting away to other fields, a few seeking work late in the 
day ; more, bargaining with the itinerant venders of pies, made to last all 
summer if not sold, gingerbread, " pones," and other nondescript edibles, 
at which an ostrich would hesitate in well-grounded fear of indigestion, 
but for which sable and semi-sable pickers exchange their berry tickets 

and pennies as eagerly as we buy 

Vienna lolls Two or three ba- 

ouches and buueies that had 




brought visitors were mingled with 
the mule-carts; and giouped together 
for a moment might be seen elegantly 
attired ladies from New York, slender 
mulatto girls, clad in a single tattered 
gown which scantily covered their bare 
ankles and feet, and stout, shiny negro 
women, their waists tied with a string The First Glimpse, 

to prevent their flowing drapery from 

impeding their work. Flitting to and fro were numberless colored chil- 
dren, bare-headed, bare-legged, and often with not a little of their sleek 
bodies gleaming through the innumerable rents of their garments, their 
eyes glittering like black beads, and their white teeth showing on the 
slightest provocation to mirth. Indeed, the majority of the young men 
and women were chattering and laughing much of the time, and only 
those well in the shadow of age worked on in a stolid, plodding manner. 
Mingled indiscriminately with the colored people were not a few white 



126 



Success ivitJi Sjnall Fniits. 



women and children, and occasionally a white man. As a rule, these 
were better dressed, the white girls wearing sun-bonnets of portentous 
size, whose cavernous depths would make a search for beauty on the part 
of our artist a rather close and embarrassing scrutiny. The colored 
women as often wore a man's hat as any other, and occasionally enlivened 
the field with a red bandana. Over all the stooping, moving, oddly 
appareled forms, a June-like sun was shining with summer warmth. 




" Nondescript Edibles. 



Beyond the field a branch of Tanner's Creek shimmered in the light, tall 
pines sighed in the breeze on the right, and from the copse-wood at their 
feet quails were calling, their mellow whistle blending with the notes of a 
wild Methodist air. In the distance rose the spires of Norfolk, complet- 
ing a picture whose interest and charm I have but faintly suggested. 

Several of the overseers are negroes, and we were hardly on the 



Methods of Culture in the South. 



127 



ground before one of these men, in the performance of his duty, shouted 

in a stentorian voice : 

" Heah, you ! Git up, dar, you long man, off'n yer knees. What yo' 

mashin' down a half-acre o' berries fer ? " 

Mr. Sheppard was quick to see a good subject, and almost in a flash 

he had the man posed and motionless in his attitude of authority, and 

under his rapid strokes Jackson won fame 
and eminence, going to his work a little later 
the hero of the field. The overseer's task is 
a difficult one, for the pickers least given to 
prayer are oftenest on their knees, crushing 








" Git up, dar, you long man 
off'n ver knees." 



''^^^ the strawberries, and, whether they 
are "long" or short, much fruit is 
destroyed. North or South, the effort to keep 
those we employ off the berries must be constant, 
especially as a long, hot day is waning. Indeed, 
one can scarcely blame them for "lopping down," for it would be inquis- 
itorial torture to most of us to stoop upon our feet through a summer 
day. Picking strawberries, as a steady business, is wofully prosaic. 

While the sun had been shining so brightly, there had been an occa- 
sional heavy jar and rumble of thunder, and now the western sky was 
black. Gradually the pickers had disappeared from the Wilson field, and 
we at last followed them, warned by an occasional drop of rain to seek the 
vicinity of the house. Having reached the grassy slope beneath the 
pines in the rear of the dwelling, we turned to note the pretty scene. 
A branch of Tanner's Creek came up almost to our feet, and on either 
side of it stretched away long rows of strawberries as far as the eye could 
reach. Toward these the throng of pickers now drifted, "seeking fresh 
fields and pastures new." The motley crowd was streaming down on either 
side of the creek, while across a little causeway came a counter current, the 
majority of them having trays full of berries. The buyers, like the traders 



I2J 



Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 



with the nomad Indians, open traffic anywhere, and at the shortest notice. 
A mule-cart was stopped, a few empty crates taken off and placed under 
the pines at our feet, and soon the grass was covered with full quart 
baskets, for which the pickers received tickets and then passed on, or, as 





'i-=-=,r»;^^^ 



People who "Take no Thought." 



was often the case, threw themselves down in the shade. The itinerant 
venders came flocking in like so many buzzards. There was at once 
chaffering and chaffing, eating and drinking. All were merry. Looking 
on the groups before us, one would imagine that the sky was serene. And 
yet, frowning upon this scene of careless security, this improvident disre- 
gard of a swiftly coming emergency, was one of the blackest of clouds. 
Every moment the thunder was jarring and rolling nearer, and yet this 
jolly people, who "take no thought," heeded not the warning. Even the 
buyers and packers seemed infected with a like spirit, and were leisurely 
packing in crates the baskets of berries scattered on the grass, when sud- 
denly Mr. Young, with his fleet, black horse, came flying down upon us. 
Standing up in his buggy he gave a dozen rapid orders, like an officer on 
the field in a critical moment. The women, who had been lounging with 
their hands on their hips, shuffle off with their trays ; half-burned pipes 
are hastily emptied ; gingerbread, and like delicacies, are stuffed into 
capacious mouths, since hands must be employed at once. Packers, 
mules, everybody, everything, are put upon the double-quick to prepare 
for the shower. It is too late, however, for down come the huge drops as 



Methods of Culture in tJie South. 



129 



they can fall only in the South. The landscape grows obscure, the forms 
of the pickers in the distance become dim and misty, and when at last it 
lightens up a little, they have disappeared from the fields. There they go, 
streaming and dripping toward the barns and sheds, looking as bedraggled 
as a flock of black Spanish fowls. Such of the mule-drivers as have been 
caught, now that they are in for it, drive leisurely by with the heavy 
crates that they should have gathered up more promptly. 

The cloud did not prove a passing one, and the rain fell so long and 
copiously that further picking for the day was abandoned. Some jogged off 
to the city, at a pace that nothing but a fiery storm could have quickened. 
A hundred or two remained under the sheds, singing and laughing. Men 
and women, and many bright young negro girls, too, lit their pipes and 
waited till they could gather at the "paying booth," near the entrance of 
the farm, after the rain was over. This booth was a small shop, extempo- 
rized of rough boards by an enterprising grocer of the city. One side was 
open, like the counter of a restaurant, and within, upon the grass, as yet 




Paying off Hands. 



untrodden, were barrels and boxes containing the edible enormities which 
seem indigenous to the semi-grocery and eating-house. In most respects 
the place resembled the sutler's stand of our army days. There was a 
small window on one end of the booth, and at this sat the grocer, meta- 
17 



I30 



Success ivith Small Fmits. 



morphosed into a paymaster, with a huge bag of coin, which he rapidly 
exchanged for the strawberry tickets. Our last glimpse of the pickers, 
who had streamed out of the city in the gray dawn, left them in a long 
line, close as herrings in a box, pressing toward the window, from which 
came faintly the chink of silver. 

As night at last closed about us, we realized the difference between a 
strawberry farm and a strawberry bed, or " patch," as country people say. 
Here was a large and well-developed business, which proved the presence 
of no small degree of brain power and energy ; and our thoughts naturally 
turned to the proprietor and the methods by which he achieved success. 

J. R. Young, Jr., is a veteran in strawberry culture, although but 
twenty-nine years of age. Mr. Young, Sr., was a Presbyterian clergyman 
who always had a leaning toward man's primal calling. When his son 
was a little boy, he was preaching at Plattsburgh, New York, and to his 
labors in the spiritual vineyard joined the care of a garden that was the 
pride of the town. Mr. Young, Jr., admits that he hated weeding and 
working among strawberries as much as any other boy, until he was 
given a share in the crop, and permitted to send a few crates to Montreal. 
He had seen but nine years when he shipped his first berries to market, 
and every summer since, from several widely separated localities and 
with many and varied experiences, he has sent to northern cities increas- 
ing quantities of his favorite fruit. When but fifteen years of age he had 
the entire charge, during the long season, of three hundred "hands," and 
the large majority of them were Irish women and children. After 
considerable experience in strawberry farming in northern and southern 
New York and in New Jersey, his father induced him to settle at Norfolk, 
Virginia, and hither he came about ten years ago. Now he has under 
his control a farm of 440 acres, 150 of which are to-day covered with 
bearing strawberry plants. In addition, he has set out this spring over 
two million more plants, which will occupy another hundred acres, so 
that in 1880 he will have 250 acres that must be picked over almost 
daily. 

Mr. Young prefers spring planting in operations upon a large scale. 
Such a choice is very natural in this latitude, for they can begin setting 
the first of February and continue until the middle of April. Therefore, 
nine-tenths of the plants grown in this region are set out in spring. But 
at Charleston and farther south, they reverse this practice, and, with few 
exceptions, plant in the summer and fall, beginning as early as July on 
some places, and continuing well into December. 

I must also state that the finest new plantation that I saw on Mr. 
Young's place was a field of Seth Boydens set out in September. 



Methods of Culture in the South. 131 

This fact proves that he could follow the system of autumn planting 
successfully, and I am inclined to think that he will regard this method 
with constantly increasing favor. As an instance proving the adaptation 
to this latitude of the fall system of planting, I may state that 96,000 
plants were sent to a gentleman at Richmond, in October, 1877, and 
when I visited his place, the following spring, there was scarcely a break 
in the long rows, and nearly fruit enough, I think, to pay for the plants. 
From his Seth Boydens, set out last September, Mr. Young will certainly 
pick enough berries to pay expenses thus far ; and at the same time, the 
plants are already four times the size of any set out this spring. As the 
country about Norfolk is level, with spots where the water would stand 
in very wet weather, Mr. Young has it thrown up into slightly raised beds 
two and a half feet wide. This is done by plows, after the ground has 
been thoroughly prepared and leveled by a heavy, fine-toothed harrow. 
These ridges are but four or five inches high, and are smoothed off by an 
implement made for the purpose. Upon these beds, quite near the edges, 
the plants are set in rows twenty inches apart, while the depressed space 
between the beds is twenty-seven inches wide. This space is also 
designed for the paths. The rows and the proper distances for the plants 
are designated by a " marker," an implement consisting of several wheels 
fastened to a frame and drawn by hand. On the rim of these wheels are 
two knobs shaped like an acorn. Each wheel marks a continuous line on 
the soft earth, and with each revolution the knobs make two slight but 
distinct depressions twelve inches apart; or, if the variety to be planted is 
a vigorous grower, he uses another set of wheels that indent the ground 
every fifteen inches. A plant is dropped at each indentation, and a gang 
of colored women follow with trowels, and, by two or three quick, dexter- 
ous movements, imbed the roots firmly in the soil. Some become so 
quick and skillful as to be able to set out six or seven thousand a day, 
while four or five thousand is the average. With his trained band of 
twenty women, Mr. Young calls the setting of a hundred thousand plants 
a good day's work. 

In April commences the long campaign against the weeds, which 
advance like successive armies. No sooner is one growth slain than 
a different and perhaps more pestiferous class rises in its place — the 
worst of the Philistines being nut-grass, quack-grass and — direst foe of 
all — wire-grass. 

This labor is reduced to its minimum by mule cultivation, and Mr. 
Young has on his farm a style of cultivator that is peculiarly adapted 
to the work. As this is his own invention, I will not describe it, but 
merely state that it enables him to work very close to the rows, and 



132 Success with Small Fruits. 

to stir the soil deeply without moving it or covering the plants. These 
cultivators are followed by women, with light, sharp hoes, who cut away 
the few weeds left between the plants. They handle these tools so 
deftly that scarcely any weeding is left to be done by hand ; for, by a 
rapid encircling stroke, they cut within a half-inch of the plant. For 
several years past, I have urged upon Mr. Young the advantage of 
the narrow row system, and his own experience has led him to adopt 
it. He is now able to keep his immense farm free of weeds chiefly 
by mule labor, whereas, in his old system of matted row culture it was 
impossible to keep down the grass, or prevent the ground from becoming 
hard and dry. He now restricts his plants to hills or " stools," from 
twelve to fifteen inches apart. The runners are cut from time to time with 
shoe-knives, the left hand gathering them up by a single rapid movement, 
and the right hand severing them by a stroke. One woman will, by 
this method, clip the runners from several acres during the growing 
season. To keep his farm in order, Mr. Young must employ seventy- 
five hands through the summer. The average wages for women is fifty 
cents, and for men seventy-five to ninety cents. In the item of cheap 
labor the South has the advantage of the North. 

With the advent of autumn, the onslaught of weeds gradually 
ceases, and there is some respite in the labors of a Virginia strawberry 
farm. 

At Charleston and farther south, this respite is brief, for the winters 
there are so mild that certain kinds of weeds will grow all the time, 
and early in February they must begin to cultivate the ground and 
mulch the plants for bearing. 

Bordering on Mr. Young's farm, and farther up the creek, there are 
hundreds of acres of salt meadows. From these he has cut, in the 
autumn and early winter, two hundred tons of hay, and with his lighter 
floats it down to his wharf In December, acre after acre is covered 
until all the plants are quite hidden from view. In the spring, this 
winter mulch is left upon the ground as the summer mulch, the new 
growth in most instances pushing its way through it readily. When it is 
too thick to permit this, it is pushed aside from the crowns of the plants. 

Thus far he has given the bearing fields no spring culture, adopt- 
ing the common theory that the ground around the plants must not 
be disturbed at this season. I advocate the opposite view, and believe 
in early spring culture, as I have already explained; and I think his 
experience this year will lead him to give my method a trial in 1880. 
The latter part of April and early May was very dry at Norfolk, and 



Methods of Culture in the South. 133 

the ground between the bearing plants became parched, hard, and in 
many instances full of weeds that had been developing through the long, 
mild spring of this region. Now I am satisfied that if he, and all others 
in this region who adopt the narrow row system, would loosen the 
ground deeply with a subsoil plow early in the season, before the plants 
had made any growth, and then stir and pulverize all the surface 
between the plants in the rows, they would increase the size and quan- 
tity of the berries at least one-third, and in many instances double the 
crop. It would require a very severe drought, indeed, to injure plants 
thus treated, and it is well known, also, that a porous, mellow soil will 
best endure too frequent rains. I have sometimes thought that light 
and air are as indispensable to the roots of plants as to the foliage. 

The winter mulch need not prevent this spring culture. Let the 
men begin on one side of a field, and rake inward until half a dozen 
rows are uncovered. Down through these the subsoil plow and the 
cultivator can pass. Then the hay can be raked back again as the 
summer mulch, and a new space cleared, until the whole field is culti- 
vated and the mulch left as it was before. 

Now, however, it is not a surface like hard-pan that is covered, but a 
mellow soil in which the roots can luxuriate. 

Mr. Young uses fertilizers, especially those containing ammonia, only 
to a limited extent, believing that while they undoubtedly increase the 
size of the fruit, they also render it soft and unfit for long carriage, and 
promote an undue growth of vine. This theory is true, to a certain 
extent, but I think the compensating benefits of fertihzers of almost any 
kind far outweigh the disadvantages. At his distance from the market, 
firmness in the berry is essential, but I think he will find this quality is 
dependent more upon the weather and the variety than upon the fertilizer. 
Of course, over-stimulation by hot manures will always produce an 
unwholesome, perishable growth, but a good coat of well-rotted compost 
scattered down the rows, just before they receive their fall or spring culture, 
would be exceedingly beneficial in nine cases out of ten. I most heartily 
agree with him, however, that all fertilizers containing potash are pecul- 
iarly adapted to the strawberry. 

Having considered his methods of planting and culture, we now 
return again to the culminating period in which the hopes and labors of 
the year are rewarded or disappointed. When we awoke the morning 
following our arrival, we found the landscape obscured by a dense fog. 
Through this, in dim, uncertain outline, throngs of pickers were streaming 
out from the city to Mr. Young's place and the strawberry farms beyond. 



134 Success with Small Prints. 

The broad fields seemed all the more vast from the obscurity, and the 
stooping forms of the fruit-gatherers took on odd and fantastic shapes in 
the silvery mist. 

But while we drank our coffee the sun sipped these morning vapors, 
and when we stepped out under the pines, the day was hourly growing 
brighter and warmer. The balmy, fragrant air, the meadow larks singing 
in the distance, the cheery voices of the pickers in an adjacent field, 
would tempt gloom itself to forget its care and stroll away through the 
sunlight. 

The pickers were beginning to take possession of a field containing 
thirty acres of Triomphe de Gands, and we followed them, and there lit 
on one of the oddest characters on the plantation — "Sam Jubilee," the 
" row-man," black as night, short, stout, and profane. It is Sam's busi- 
ness to give each picker a row of berries, and he carries a brass-headed 
cane as the baton of authority. As we came up, he was whirling a glazed 
hat of portentous size in one hand, and gesticulating so wildly with his 
cane that one might think he was in convulsions of rage, but we soon 
learned that this was "his way." 

" Heah, you, dah !" he vociferated, to the slouching, leisurely pickers 
that were drifting after him, " what 's de matter wid yer j'ints ? Step 

along lively, or, by " and then came a volley of the most outlandish 

oaths ever uttered by a human tongue. 

" Don't swear so, Sam," said Mr. Young. 

" Can't help it, sah. Dey makes me swar. Feels as if I could bust 
inter ten thousand emptins, dey 's so agerwatin. Heah, my sister, take dat 
row. You, gemlin" (to a white man), " take dat. Heah, chile, step in dar 
an' pick right smart, or I '11 warm yer ! " 

Sam " brothers and sisters " the motley crowd he domineers like a 
colored preacher, but I fear he is not "in good and regular standing" in 
any church in Norfolk. 

" He can give out rows more rapidly and systematically than any man 
I ever had," said Mr. Young, and we soon observed that wherever Jubilee 
led, with his stentorian voice and emphatic gestures, there was life and 
movement. Thus we learned that although there might be 1,500 people 
in the fields, there was no hap-hazard picking. Each one would be 
assigned a row, which could not be left until all the ripe berries on it were 
gathered. 

Passing to and fro across the fields are the two chief overseers of the 
farm, Harrison and Peters, both apparently full-blooded negroes, but, in 
the vernacular of the South, "right smart men." They have been with 



Methods of Culture 171 the South. 



135 



Mr. Young eight or ten years, and were promoted and maintain their 
position solely on the ground of ability and faithfulness. They go rapidly 
from one to another, noting whether they are picking the rows clean. 
They also take from each tray a basket at random, and empty it into 
another, thus discovering who are gathering green or imperfect berries. 
If the fruit falls much below the accepted standard, the baskets are confis- 
cated and no tickets given for them, and if the picker continues careless 
he is sent out of the field. 

Mr. Young says that he has never found any white overseers who 
could equal these men, and through the long year they drive on the work 
with tireless energy. 

Indeed, Peters often has much ado to keep his energy under control. 




An 0\erieer — ' A little brief luthonty 

A powerful engine cannot always be safe, and Peters slipped his bands 
one day to his cost. A woman would not obey him, and he threatened 
her with a pistol. Instead of obeying, she started to run. He fired and 
wounded her twice, and then tried to get off on the lame excuse that he 
did not know the pistol was loaded. The trouble was that he was over- 
loaded. But his offense resulted more from these characteristics than from 
innate ugliness of temper. To make the business of the huge farm go 
has become his controlling passion, and he chafes at an obstacle like an 
obstructed torrent. 



136 Success with Small F7^uits. 

Harrison, his associate overseer, unites more discretion with his force, 
and he gave us an example of this fact. As we were strolHng about, we 
found, seated at the end of the strawberry rows, a group consisting of two 
young women and two children, with a colored man standing near. They 
had been picking in partnership, we were informed by one of the young 
women, who was smoking a pipe, and who replied to our questions, 
scarcely taking the trouble to look up. She was about half white, and her 
face was singularly expressive of sensuousness and indolent recklessness. 

"This man is your husband ?" I suggested. 

"No, he 's only my brudder. My ole man is picking on anoder farm," 
she drawled out, between the whiffs of her pipe. 

" I should think you and your husband would work together," I 
ventured. 

"We doesn't. He goes about his business and I goes about mine," 
she remarked,, with languid complacency. 

Here is a character, I thought, as we passed on, — the very embodi- 
ment of a certain kind of willfulness. She would not resist or chafe at 
authority, but, with an easy, good-natured, don't care expression, would 
do as she pleased " though the heavens fell." A little later there was a 
heavy rumble of thunder in the west, and we met again the young woman 
whose marital relations resembled those of many of her fashionable sisters 
at the North. She was leading her small band from the field. The 
prospective shower was her excuse for going, but laziness the undoubted 
cause. Harrison, like a vigilant watch-dog, spied them and blustered up, 
never for a moment doubting that she would yield to his authority. 

But he had met his match. She merely looked at him with her slow, 
quiet, indolent smile, in which there was not the faintest trace of irreso- 
lution or fear, and he knew that the moment he stepped out of the way, 
she would pass on. His loud expostulations and threats soon ceased. 
What could he do with that laughing woman, who no doubt had been a 
slave, but was now emancipated a trifle too completely ? He might as 
well try to stop a sluggish tide with his hands. It would ooze away from 
him inevitably. The instincts of this people are quick. Harrison knew 
he was defeated, and his only anxiety now was to retreat in a way that 
would save appearances. 

" I'se a-gwine home. M's'r Harrison," she said quietly. " You don't 
catch us gittin' wet ag'in." 

" Oh, well, if you is 'fraid ob gittin' wet, s'pose I'll habe to let you off 
jus' dis once," he began pompously ; and here, fortunately, he saw a man 
leaving the field in the distance. There was a subject with which he 



MetJiods of C?iltiire in the South. 137 

could deal, and a line of retreat open at the same time, and away he 
went, therefore, vociferating all the more loudly that he might cover his 
discomfiture. The woman smiled a little more complacently and went 
on, with her old easy, don't-care swing, as she undoubtedly will, 
whithersoever her inclinations lead, to the end of her life. To crys- 
tallize such wayward human atoms into proper forms, and make them 
useful, is a problem that would puzzle wiser heads than that of the 
overseer. 

I think, however, that not only Harrison and Peters, but all who have 
charge of working people, rely too much on driving, and too little on 
encouraging and coaxing. An incident which occurred may illustrate 
this truth. My companion, Mr. Drake, soon mastered one of the labors 
of a strawberry farm, — the gathering of the fruit, — and out of the pleni- 
tude of his benevolence essayed to teach a little sable how he could 
pick to better advantage. 

" Put your basket down, sonny," he said. " Now you have two 
hands to work with instead of one — so, don't you see ?" 

" Dat 's mighty good in you, Mas'r," said a woman near. " Lor bress 
you ! de people 'ud jess jump over derselves tryin to do the work if dey 
got sich good words, but de oberseer 's so cross dat we gits 'umptous and 
don't keen" 

Still, to the majority, the strawberry season brings the halcyon days 
of the year. They look forward to it and enjoy it as a prolonged picnic, 
in which business and pleasure are equally combined. They are essen- 
tially gregarious, and this industry brings many together during the long 
bright days. The light work leaves their tongues free, and families and 
neighbors pick together with a ceaseless chatter, a running fire of rude, 
broad pleasantry, intermingled occasionally with a windy war of words in 
a jargon that becomes all the more uncouth from anger, but which rarely 
ends in blows. 

We were continually impressed by their courage, buoyancy, animal 
spirits, or whatever it is that enables them to face their uncertain future so 
unconcernedly. Multitudes live like the birds, not knowing where their 
next year's nest will be, or how to-morrow's food will come. It has come, 
thus far, and this fact seems enough. In many instances, however, their 
humble fortunes are built on the very best foundations. 

"What can you do after the berry season is over ?" we asked a woman 
who had but one arm. 

" I kin do what any other woman kin do," she said, straightening her- 
self up. "I kin bake, cook, wash, iron, scrub " 

18 



138 Success with Small Fruits. 

" That will do," I cried. " You are better off than most of us, for the 
world will always need and pay for your accomplishments." 

The story of her life was a simple one. She did not remember when 
she lost her arm, but only knew that it had been burned off. When 
scarcely more than an infant, she had been left alone in the little cabin by 
the slave mother, who probably was toiling in the tobacco field. There 
was a fire on the hearth — the rest can be imagined only too vividly. She 
is fighting out the battle of life, however, more successfully with her one 
hand than are multitudes of men with two. She is stout and cheery, and 
can " take keer of herself and children," she said. 

Scattered here and there over the fields might be seen two heads that 
would keep in rather close juxtaposition up and down the long rows. 

"Dey 's pairin' off," was the explanation. 

"You keep de tickets," said a buxom young woman to her mate, as 
he was about to take her tray, as well as his own, to the buyers. 

"You are in partnership," I remarked. 

"Yes, we is," she replied, with a conscious laugh. 

" You are related, I suppose ? " 

" Well, not 'zackly — dat is — we 's partners." 

"How about this partnership business — does it not last sometimes 
after the strawberry season is over ? " 

" Oh, Lor', yes ! " Heaps on 'em gits fallen in love ; den dey gits 
a-marryin', arter de pickin' time is done gone by." 

" Now I see what your partnership means." 

" Yah, yah, yah ! You sees a heap more dan I 's told you ! " But her 
partner grinned most approvingly. We were afterward informed that 
there was no end to the love-making among the strawberry rows. 

There are from fifty to one hundred and fifty pickers in a squad, 
and these are in charge of subordinate overseers, who are continually 
moving around among them, on the watch for delinquencies of all kinds. 
Some of these minor potentates are white and some black. As a rule, 
Mr. Young gives the blacks the preference, and on strictly business 
principles, too. " The colored men have more snap, and can get more 
work out of their own people," he says. By means of these sub- 
overseers, large numbers can be transferred from one part of the farm 
to another without confusion. 

Fortunes are never made in gathering strawberries, and yet there 
seems no dearth of pickers. The multitude of men, women and children 
that streams out into the country every morning is surprisingly large. 
Five or six thousand bushels a day are often gathered in the vicinity 
of Norfolk, and the pickers rarely average over a bushel each. " Right 



Methods of Ciilticre in the South. 



139 



smart hands," who have the good hap to be given full rows, will occa- 
sionally pick two bushels ; but about thirty quarts per day is the usual 
amount, while not a few of the lazy and feeble bring in only eight or ten. 

As has been already suggested, 
the pickers are followed by the buyers 
and packers, and to these men, at 
central points in the fields, the mule- 
carts bring empty crates. The pickers 
carry little trays containing six baskets, 
each holding a quart. As fast as they 
fill these, they flock in to the buyers. 
If a trayful, or six good quarts, are 
offered, the buyer gives the picker a 
yellow ticket, worth twelve cents. When 
less than six baskets are brought, each 
basket is paid for with a green ticket, 
worth two cents. These two tickets 
are eventually exchanged for a white 
fifty-cent ticket, which is cashed at the 
paying-booth after the day's work is 
over. The pickers, therefore, receive 
two cents for every quart of good, 
salable berries. If green, muddy, or 
decayed berries are brought in, they 
are thrown away or confiscated, and 
incorrigibly careless pickers are driven 
off the place. Every morning, the 
buyers take out as many tickets of 
these three values as they think they 
can use, and are charged with the same 
by the book-keeper. Their voucher for 
all they pay out is another ticket, on 
which is printed " Forty-five quarts," 
or just a crateful. Only Mr. Young 
and one other person have a right to 
give out the last-named tickets, and by night each buyer must have 
enough of them to balance the other tickets with which he was charged 
in the morning. Thus, thousands of dollars change hands through the 
medium of four kinds of tickets not over an inch square, and by means 
of them the financial part of gathering the crop is managed. 

In previous years, these tickets were received the same as money 




A Picker. 



I40 



Success zvith Small Fruits. 



by any of the shops in the city, and on one occasion were counterfeited. 
Mr. Young now has his own printing-office, and gets them up in a way 
not easily imitated, nor does he issue them until just as the fruit begins 
to ripen. He has, moreover, given authority to one man only to cash 
these tickets. Thus there is little chance for rascality. 

He also requires that no tickets shall be cashed until the fields have 
all been picked over. Were it not for this regulation, the lazy and the 
" bummers " would earn enough merely to buy a few drinks, then slink 




Exchanging and Counting Tickets. 



off. Now they must remain until all are through before they can get a 
cent. Peters and Harrison see to it that none are lying around in the 
shade, and thus, through the compulsion of system, many, no doubt, are 
surprised to find themselves at work for the greater part of the day. 

And yet neither system nor Peters, with even his sanguinary reputa- 
tion, is able alone to control the hordes employed. Of course the very 
dregs of the population are largely represented. Many go out on a 



Methods of Culture in the South. 141 

" lark," not a few to steal, and some with the basest purposes. Walking 
continually back and forth through the fields, therefore, are two duly 
authorized constables, and their presence only prevents a great deal of 
crime. Moreover, according to Virginian law, every landholder has the 
right to arrest thieves and trespassers. Up to the time of our visit, five 
persons had been arrested, and the fact that they were all white does not 
speak very well for our color. The law of the State requires that they 
shall be punished by so many lashes, according to the gravity of the offense, 
and by imprisonment. The whipping-post is one of the institutions, and 
man or woman, white or black, against whom the crime of stealing- is 
proved, is stripped to the waist and lashed upon the bare back. Such 
ignominious punishment may prevent theft, but it must tend to destroy 
every vestige of self-respect and pride in criminals, and render them hope 
lessly reckless. Therefore, it should cease at once. 

It must be admitted, however, that very little lawlessness was apparent. 
In no instance have I received a rude word while traveling in the South, 
while, on the other hand, the courtesy and kindness were almost unstinted. 

The negroes about Norfolk certainly do not wear an intimidated or 
*' bull-dozed " air. 

" Git off my row, dar, or I '11 bust yo' head open," shouted a tall, 
strapping colored girl to a white man, and he got off her row with alacrity. 

Mr. Young says that the negro laborers are easily managed, and will 
endure a great deal of severity if you deal " squarely " with them ; but if 
you wrong them out of even five cents, they will never forget it. What 's 
more, every citizen of " Blackville " will be informed of the fact, for what 
one knows they all seem to know very soon. 

We were not long in learning to regard the strawberry farm as a little 
world within itself It would be difficult to make the reader understand 
its life and " go " at certain hours of the day. Scores are coming and 
going ; hundreds dot the fields ; carts piled up with crates are moving 
hither and thither. At the same time, the regular toil of cultivation is 
maintained. Back and forth between the young plants mules are drawing 
cultivators, and following these come a score or two women with light, 
sharp hoes. From the great crate manufactory is heard the whir of 
machinery and the click of hammers ; at intervals the smithy sends forth 
its metallic voice, while from one center of toil and interest to another the 
proprietor whisks in his open buggy at a speed that often seems perilous. 

After all, Mr. Young's most efficient aid in his business was his father 
(recently deceased). It gave me pleasure to note the frequency and 
deference with which the senior's judgment was consulted, and I also 



142 Success with Small Fruits. 

observed that wherever the old gentleman's umbrella was seen in the 
field, all went well. 

At four or five in the afternoon, the whole area would be picked over. 
The fields would be left to meadow-larks and quails, whose liquid notes 
well replaced the songs and cries of the pickers. Here and there a mule-cart 
would come straggling in. By night, all signs of life were concentrated 
around the barns and paying booth; but even from these one after another 
would drift away to the city, till at last scarcely a vestige of the hurry 
and business of the day would be left. The deep hush and quiet that 
settled down on the scene was all the more delightful from contrast. To 
listen to the evening wind among the pines, to watch the sun drop below 
the spires of Norfolk, and see the long shadows creep toward us; to let our 
thoughts flit whither they would, like the birds about us, was all the 
occupation we craved at this hour. Were we younger and more romantic, 
we might select this witching time for a visit to an ancient grave in one of 
the strawberry fields. 

A mgssy, horizontal slab marks the spot, and beneath it reposes the 
dust of a young English officer. One bright June day — so the legend is 
told — one hundred and sixteen years ago, this man, in the early summer 
of his life, was killed in a duel. 

Lingering here, through the twilight, until the landscape grows as 
obscure as this rash youth's history, what fancies some might weave. As 
the cause of the tragedy, one would scarcely fail to see among the shadows 
the dim form and features of some old-time belle, whose smiles had 
kindled the fierce passion that was here quenched, more than a century 
since. Did she marry the rival, of surer aim and cooler head and heart, or 
did she haunt this place with regretful tears ? Did she become a stout, 
prosaic woman, and end her days in whist and all the ancient proprieties, 
or fade into a remorseful wraith that still haunts her unfortunate lover's 
grave? One shivers, and grows superstitious. The light twinkling 
from the windows of the cottage under the pines becomes very attractive. 
As we fall asleep after such a visit, we like to think of the meadow-larks 
singing on the mossy tombstone in the morning. 

During a rainy day, when driven from the field, we found plenty to 
interest us in the printing-office, smithy, and especially in the huge crate 
manufactory. Here were piled up coils of baskets that suggested straw- 
berries for a million supper-tables. Hour after hour the mule-power 
engine drove saws, with teeth sharper than those of time, through the pine- 
boards that soon become crates for the round quart baskets. These crates 
were painted green, marked with Mr. Young's name, and piled to the 
lofty, cobwebbed ceiling. 



Methods of Culture in the South. 



143 



But Saturday is the culminating period of the week. The huo-e 
plantation has been gone over closely and carefully, for the morrow is 

Sunday, on which day the 



birds are the only pickers. 
Around the office, crate man- 
ufactory and paying booth, 
were gathered over a thou- 
sand people — a motley and 
variegated crowd, that the 
South only can produce. The 
odd and often coarse jargon, 
the infinite variety in appear- 
ance and character, suggested 
again that humanity is a 
very tangled problem. The 
shrewdness and accuracy, 
however, with which the 
most ignorant count their 
tickets and reckon their dues 
on their fingers, is a trait 
characteristic of all, and, 
having received the few shil- 
lings, which mean a luxurious 
Sunday, they trudge off to 
town, chattering volubly, 
whether any one listens or not. 




Making Crates. 

But many cannot resist 
the rollicking music back of 
the paying booth. Three 
sable musicians form the 
orchestra, and from a bass 




Exterior of Factory. 



viol, fiddle, and fife they extract melody that, with all its short-coming, 
would make a deacon wish to dance. Any one, white or black, can 



144 



Success with Small Fruits. 



purchase the privilege of keeping step to the music for two cents, or one 
strawberry ticket. Business was superb, and every shade of color and 
character was represented. In the vernacular of the farm, the mulatto girls 
are called " strawberry blondes," and one that would have attracted atten- 
tion anywhere was led out by a droll, full-blooded negro, who would have 
made the fortune of a minstrel troupe. She was tall and willowy. A 
profusion of dark hair curled about an oval face, not too dark to prevent a 
faint color of the strawberry from glowing in her cheeks. She wore neither 
hat nor shoes, but was as unembarrassed, apparently, in her one close- 
fitting garment, as could be any ball-room belle dressed in the latest mode. 
Another blonde, who sported torn slippers and white stockings, was in 







/I 






Rushinsf the Last Lot. 



danger of being spoiled by much attention. As a rule, however, bare 
feet were nothing against a " lady " in the estimation of the young men. 
At any rate, all who could spare a berry ticket speedily found a partner, 
and, as we rode away from the farm, the last sounds were those of music 
and merriment, and our last glimpse was of the throng of dancers on the 
green. 

The confused uproar and rush of business around the Old Dominion 
steamship made a marked contrast. To the ample wharves every species 
of vehicle had been coming all day, while all kinds of craft, from a skiff to 



Methods of Cidtiwe in the South. 145 

a large two-masted schooner, waiting their turn to discharge their freight 
of berry crates and garden produce, reached half across the Elizabeth 
river. The rumble of the trucks was almost like the roar of thunder, as 
scores of negroes hustled crates, barrels and boxes aboard. Most of the 
time, they were on a good round trot, and one had to pick his way with 
care ; for, apparently, the truck was as thoughtful as the trundler. 

As the long tw^ilight fades utterly into night, the last crate is aboard. 
The dusky forms of the stevedores are seen in an old pontoon-shaped 
boat on their way to Portsmouth, but their outlines, and the melody of 
their rude song, are soon lost in the distance. The ship, that has become 
like a huge section of Washington Market, casts off her lines, and away 
we steam, diffusing on the night air the fragrance of a thousand acres, 
more or less, of strawberries. 

It was late in the night that followed the next day before we reached 
New York, but on the great covered wharf, to which was given a noon- 
day glare by electric lights, there was no suggestion of the darkness and 
rain without. Various numbers, prominent on the sides of the building, 
indicated the lines of transit and the commission houses to which the 
immense, indiscriminate cargo was assigned. With a heavy jar and rumble 
that would not cease till the ship was empty, a throng of white laborers 
wheel each package to its proper place. Mr. Young's crates soon grew 
into what seemed, in the distance, a good-sized mound. The number 
above them stood for Eldridge & Carpenter, West Washington Market. 
Thither we followed them the next morning, but found that the most 
of them had already been scattered throughout the city, and realized that 
the berries we had seen a few hours before on the strawberry farm were 
even then on uptown breakfast-tables. 



19 



CHAPTER XVII. 



FORCING STRAWBERRIES UNDER GLASS. 



TRAINED gardeners need no instruction from me on this topic. 
There may be those, however, who have never given the subject 
attention, and who would be glad to learn some of the first principles of 
success in forcing this fruit for market, while a still larger number, having 
small conservatories and warm south windows, would be pleased to see 
a few strawberries blossoming and ripening, as an earnest of the coming 
June. There are no greater difficulties in the way than in having flowers, 
for it is merely a question of doing the right thing at the right time. I do 
not believe in a system of minute, arbitrary directions, so much as in the 
clear statement of a few general principles that will suggest what ought 
to be done. The strawberry plant has the same character indoors as 
out, and this fact alone, in view of what has been written, should suggest 
moisture, coolness, light and air. I shall endeavor to present, however, 
each successive step. 

First, prepare a compost of thoroughly rotted sods and the cleanings 
of the cow-stable, in the proportion of three parts sod-mold to one of 
manure. In the place of sods, decayed leaves, muck, sweetened by a 
year's exposure to air and frost, or any good, rich loam will answer. With 
this compost, made fine and clean by passing it through a coarse sieve, 
fill in June, and not later than July, as many three-inch pots as you 
desire ; then sink them to their rims along the sides of the rows from which 
you propose to obtain winter-bearing plants. Varieties best adapted for 

146 



Fore in or Strawberries lender Glass. 



147 



forcing are those of a low, stocky growth, bearing perfect flowers and sweet 
or high-flavored berries. I should say the Triomphe de Gand was the 
best, and I observe that it and the La Constante, which it closely resem- 
bles, are highly recommended abroad. The bush Alpines are said to do 
finely, and I should think the Black Defiance would answer well. Mr. 
Henderson speaks highly of the Champion, which, however, must be 
grown with a perfect-flowered kind, since it is a pistillate. From the 
parent row, guide the first runners so that they will take root in the pots. 
Let each runner form but a single, strong plant, which it will do in about 
two weeks, filling the pot with roots. Then these plants, with their 
accompanying balls of earth interlaced with roots, are ready to be shifted 
into pots of from six to eight inches in diameter, which also should be filled 
with the compost already described. 

These larger pots should have three or four pieces of broken pottery 
in the bottom for drainage. One plant to each pot is sufficient, and the 
soil should be pressed firmly about the roots. The methods of growers 
now differ somewhat, but all agree in seeking to promote a continuous and 
healthy growth. It may be necessary to place the pots in a half-shady 
position for a few days, till the effects of shifting are over, and the roots 
have taken hold of the new soil. Then they should stand in an open, airy 
position, close together, where they can receive daily attention. Some 
recommend that they stand on boards, flagging or bricks, or a layer of coal 
ashes, since earth-worms are thus kept out ; others sink them in cold 
frames, where they can be protected somewhat from excessive heat and 
drenching storms ; while others, still, sink the pots in the open ground, 
where it is convenient to care for and water them. It is obvious that 
moisture must be steadily and continuously maintained, and the plants be 
made to do their best until about the first of October. After this they 
should be watered very sparingly, — barely kept moist, — since it is now our 
aim to ripen the foliage and roots and induce a season of rest. At the same 
time, they should not be permitted to dry out. About the first of Novem- 
ber, an old hot-bed pit can be filled with dry leaves and the pots plunged 
in them, close together, up to their rims, and, as the season grows colder, 
the tops can be covered, so as to prevent the earth in the pots from 
freezing. The top of the pit can be covered with boards to keep out the 
wet, but not so tightly as to exclude the air. Our aim is to keep the 
plants dormant, and yet a little above freezing, and barely moist enough 
to prevent the slightest shriveling. Since it requires from ten to fourteen 
weeks to mature the fruit under glass, it would be well to subject some of 
the plants to heat early in October, so as to have ripe berries at the 



148 Success ivith Small Fruits. 

holidays. They can thereafter be taken from the storage place every two 
or three weeks, so as to secure a succession. By this course, also, if a 
mishap befalls one lot of plants, there still remain several chances for 
winter fruit. 

In the forcing process, follow nature. The plants do not start sud- 
denly in spring, but gradually awaken into life. The weather, also, is 
comparatively cool when they are blossoming. If these hints are hot 
taken in the green-house, there may be much promise but little fruit. 
If the heat is turned on too rapidly, when the plants begin to bloom, 
the calyx and corolla will probably develop properly, but the stamens 
will be destitute of pollen, while the pistils, the most complicated 
part of the flower, and that which requires the longest time for perfect 
formation, become " a mere tuft of abortions, incapable of quickening, 
and shriveling into pitch-black threads as soon as fully in contact with 
the air." Let the conditions within-doors accord as far as possible with 
those under the open sky. The roots require coolness, continuous and 
evenly maintained moisture. One check from over-dryness may cause 
serious and lasting injury. The foliage needs air and light, in abun- 
dance. Therefore, the pots should be on shelves close to the glass ; 
otherwise the leaf and fruit-stalks will be drawn and spindling. If 
the pot can be shaded while the plant is in full light, all the better. 
When first introduced, the temperature should not exceed 45° or 50°. 
Air must be freely admitted at all times, though much less will suffice, 
of course, in cold than in warm weather. Watch the foliage, and if it 
begins to grow long and without substance, give more air and less heat. 
An average of 55° to 70° by day may be allowed, and from 45° to 
50° by night. 

When the flower buds begin to open, the forcing must be conducted 
more slowly and evenly, so as to give the delicate organs time to 
perfect ; but after the fruit is set, the heat can be increased till it occa- 
sionally reaches 75° at midday. After the fruit begins to color, give 
less water — barely sufficient to prevent any check in growth, and 
the fruit will be sweeter and ripen faster. The upper blossoms may be 
pinched off, so as to throw the whole strength of the plant into the 
lower berries. Keep off all runners ; syringe the plants if infested with 
the red spider, and if the aphis appears, fumigate him with tobacco. 

The plants that have fruited need not be thrown away as useless. 
If they are turned out of the pots into rich, moist soil, in April, and the 
runners are kept off all summer, they will make large bushy stools, 
which will give a fine crop in autumn. 



Forcing Strawberries under Glass. 149 

The amateur, with a small conservatory or south window, by 
approximating as far as possible to the conditions named, can achieve 
a fair success. I have had plants do moderately well by merely digging 
them from the beds late in the fall, with considerable rich earth clinging to 
their roots, and then potting with more rich soil, and forcing them at 
once. Of course, fine results cannot be expected from such careless 
work, but some strawberries can be raised with very little trouble. 
If one, however, wished to go into the business on a large and 
scientific scale, I would recommend a strawberry-house, designed by Mr. 
William Ingram, gardener at Belvoir Castle. A figure of this structure 
may be seen on page 74, in Mr. Fuller's valuable work, "The Small 
Fruit Culturist." On the same principles that we have been describing, 
the ripening of strawberries can be hastened by the use of hot beds; 
cold frames and ordinary sash. 

During the Christmas holidays, strawberries sell readily at from $4 to 
$8 per quart, and handsome fruit brings high prices till March ; but the 
profit of raising them under glass threatens to diminish in future years, 
since Florida berries begin to arrive freely even in February. There are 
those who now seem to be doing well in the business of forcing, if we 
may judge from the jealousy with which they guard the open secrets 
of their calling from their neighbors. 

A rough and ready method of forcing is to dig up clumps of plants 
during a mild spell in winter or early spring, put them in boxes or pots 
of rich earth, and take them into the green-house. Considerable fruit 
is sometimes ripened in this way. 

An English writer says: "We find forced strawberries mentioned 
as being served at an installation dinner, April 23d, 1667; but the 
idea had already occurred to the great Lord Bacon, who writes, ' As 
we have housed the exotics of hot countries, so we may house our natives 
to forward them, and thus have violets, strawberries and pease all 
winter.' " 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ORIGINATING NEW VARIETIES — HYBRIDIZATION. 



THIS chapter introduces us to great diversities of opinion, and to still 
greater differences in experience, and I fear that I shall leave the 
subject as indefinite as I find it. The scientist best versed in botany 
and the laws of heredity can here find a field that would tax his best skill 
for a life-time, and yet a child may amuse himself with raising new kinds ; 
and it would not be impossible that, through some lucky combination of 
nature, the latter might produce a variety that would surpass the results 
of the learned man's labor. As in most other activities of life, however, 
the probabilities are on the side of skill and continuous effort. 

We have already shown that all the seeds of the F. Virginiana and 
F. Chilensis may produce a new variety. These seedlings often closely 
resemble the parent or parents, and sometimes are practically identical 
with one of them ; more often they present distinct differences. It 
is wholly impossible to predict the character of seedlings, as they 
usually are produced. If we could obtain pure specimens of the two 
great species, and cross them, the element of chance would not enter 
into the result so largely as must be the case when seed is gathered in 
our gardens. The pedigrees of but few varieties are known, and in 
many instances the two great races are so mingled that we can only 
guess which element predominates, by the behavior and appearance 
of the plants. The kinds with which we start are hybrids, and, as 
Mr. A. S. Fuller sagaciously remarks, " Hybridizing, or crossing 



Originating New Varieties — Hybridizatioji. 151 

hybrids, is only mixing together two compounds, the exact propor- 
tions of neither being known." Therefore, the inevitable element of 
chance. Disagreeable traits and shiftless ways of strawberry grand- 
parents and great-grandparents may develop themselves in a seedling 
produced by the union of two first class varieties. At the same time, it is 
possible that fine ancestral qualities may also assert themselves. The 
chance seedling which comes up in a garden where good varieties have 
been raised may prove a prize. The Forest Rose was found growing in 
a vineyard. If we propose to raise seedlings, however, we will, of course, 
select seeds from the best fruit of fine varieties, even in our first and most 
rudimental efforts. Before making any serious or prolonged attempt to 
originate new varieties, it would be well to familiarize ourselves with certain 
principles, and gather experience from the successes and failures of others. 
We have seen that the F. Virginiana is the native species of the eastern 
section of our continent, and that its vigor and hardiness best adapt it to 
our extremes of climate. It were best to start, therefore, with the most 
vigorous strains and varieties of this hardy species. It is true that fine 
results can be obtained from crossing varieties of the F. Chilensis with our 
native species, — the President Wilder proves this, — but few of such 
products are adapted to the country at large, and they will be almost 
sure to falter on light soils. We will achieve our best success in 
developing our native species. By observation, careful reading of the 
horticultural journals, and by correspondence, the propagator can learn 
what varieties show vigor and productiveness, throughout a wide range 
of country, and in great diversities of soil and climate. These sturdy 
kinds, that seem bent on doing well everywhere, should be the robust 
forefathers of the strawberries of the future. Starting with these, we are 
already well on the way toward the excellence we hope to attain. The 
pith of our difficulty now is to make any further advance. How can 
we surpass that superb group of berries that prove their excellence year 
after year ? 

As Mr. Durand well puts it, new varieties, to be of value, should 
produce berries that " measure from four to eight inches in circumference, 
of good form, color and flavor ; very large specimens are not expected to 
be perfect in form, yet those of medium size should always be. The 
calyx should never be imbedded in the flesh, which should be sufficiently 
firm to carry well, and withstand all changes of our variable climate. The 
texture should be fine, flesh rich, with a moderate amount of acid, — no 
more than just sufficient to make it palatable with sugar as a table berry. 
The plant should be hardy, vigorous, large and strong; of great endurance 



152 Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

as to climatic change, and able to stand any amount of manure of the 
right kind. It should be a prolific bearer, with stalks of sufficient length 
to keep the fruit out of the dirt, and bear its berries of nearly uniform size 
to the end. Any serious departure from such necessary qualities would 
be fatal to any new variety." 

What is the use of spending time on varieties that do not possess 
these good qualities, or many of them, so preeminently that they supersede 
those already in our gardens? Shall I root out the Charles Downing, Seth 
Boyden, and Monarch, and replace them with inferior kinds because they 
are new ? That is what we have been doing too extensively. But if, in 
very truth, varieties can be originated that do surpass the best we now 
have, then both common sense and self-interest should lead to their 
general cultivation. I believe that honest and intelligent effort can secure 
a continued advance in excellence which will probably be slow, but may 
be sure. 

The public, however, will suffer many disappointments, and every 
year will buy thousands of some extravagantly praised and high-priced 
new variety, in hope of obtaining the ideal strawberry ; and they so often 
get a good thing among the blanks that they seem disposed to continue 
indefinitely this mild form of speculation. In the final result, merit asserts 
itself, and there is a survival of the fittest. The process of winnowing the 
wheat from the chaff" is a costly one to many, however. I have paid 
hundreds of dollars for varieties that I now regard as little better than 
weeds. From thorough knowledge of the best kinds already in cultiva- 
tion, the propagator should not impose any second-rate kind on the public. 
And yet the public, or the law which the public sustains, renders this 
duty difficult. If a man invents a peculiar nutmeg- grater, his patent pro- 
tects him ; but if he discovers, or originates, a fruit that enriches the 
world, any one who can get it, by fair means or foul, may propagate and 
sell to all. To reap any advantages, the originator must put his seedling, 
which may have cost him years of effort, into the market before it is fully 
and widely tested. If he sends it for trial to other localities, there is 
much danger of its falling into improper hands. The variety may do 
splendidly in its native garden, and yet not be adapted to general cultiva- 
tion. This fact, which might have been learned by trial throughout the 
country before being sent out, if there was protective law, is learned after- 
ward, to the cost of the majority who buy. In view of the above con- 
siderations, it is doubtful whether the pecuniary reward will often repay for 
the time, trouble, and expense which is usually required to produce a 
variety worthy of general introduction. Other motives than money must 



Originating Nezv Varieties — Hybridizatio)i. 153 

actuate. As Mr. Durand once said, when so perplexed by the difficulties 
and complications of his labor, and so disheartened by the results that he 
was inclined to throw down the burden, "There is a fascination that 
binds me still." In other words, he was engaged in one of the divinest 
forms of alchemy. 

Having procured the vigorous stock from which we hope to obtain 
still stronger and more productive varieties, we may go to work several 
ways. We may plant our choice varieties in close proximity, and let the 
bees and summer gales do the hybridizing. It will be remembered that 
the organs of procreation in the perfect strawberry blossom are the pistils 
on the convex receptacle and the encircling stamens. The anthers of the 
latter produce a golden powder, so light that it will float on a summer 
breeze, and so fine that insects dust themselves with it and carry it long 
distances. When this dust, which is called pollen, comes in contact with 
the stigma of a pistil, it imparts the power of development both to the 
seed and that which sustains it — the receptacle which is eventually trans- 
formed into the juicy pulp. If the pistils are not fertilized, there will be 
no strawberries, as well as no seeds. Perfect-flowering varieties, there- 
fore, are self-fertilizing. There are stamens and pistils in the same flower, 
and the pollen from the former impregnates the latter. In view of this 
fact, the probabilities are all against success in obtaining an improved 
variety. While the pollen may pass from one perfect-flowering kind to 
another, and produce a seed which will give a new combination, the 
chances of self-fertilization, and that, in consequence, the seeds will pro- 
duce degenerate and somewhat varying counterparts of the parent, are so 
great that it is a waste of time to plant them. There is little to be hoped, 
therefore, from the seed of perfect-flowering kinds left to nature's 
influences. 

In this country, we have pistillate varieties, or those that are wholly 
destitute of stamens. Mr. Fuller says that, for some reason, they do not 
originate abroad. It is obvious that, with these pistillates, we can attain a 
direct cross with some staminate or perfect-flowering variety, but if our 
pistillates grow openly in the garden, near several staminates, the seeds 
sown may have been fertilized by the poorest of them, or by pollen from 
wild strawberries, brought by the wind or insects. It is all hap-hazard 
work, and we can only guess at the parentage of the seedlings. There is 
no skillful combination of good qualities, such as the stock farmer makes 
when he mingles good blood. Gathering the seed, therefore, in our 
gardens, even under the most favorable auspices, is the veriest game of 
hazard, with nearly all the chances against us ; and yet superb varieties 
20 



154 Success with Small Fruits. 

are occasionally procured in this way. Indeed, as we have seen, they 
sometimes come up themselves, and assert their merit wholly unaided. 
By such methods, however, the propagator has not one chance in 
thousands, as much experience shows. 

We are, therefore, led to isolate our plants, and to seek intelligently 
and definitely to unite the good qualities of two distinct varieties. If 
they have no pistillate plants abroad, they must remove all the stamens 
from some perfect flower before they are sufficiently developed to shed 
their pollen, and then fertilize the pistils with the stamens of the other 
variety whose qualities they wish to enter into the combination. There 
is no need of our doing this, for it involves much trouble and care at best, 
and then we are always haunted by the fear that the stamens were not 
removed in time, or so completely as to prevent self-fertilization. With 
such pistillate varieties as the Golden Defiance, Champion, Springdale, 
and Crescent, we have as robust motherhood as we require. 

In order to present to the reader the most approved systems of 
hybridization, I will give the methods of two gentlemen who are among 
the best known in relation to this subject. 

The late Mr. Seth Boyden won world-wide celebrity by his success, 
and the berry named after him will perpetuate his memory for many 
years to come. When grown under the proper conditions, it presents a 
type of excellence still unsurpassed. 

Mr. Boyden's neighbor, Mr. Ogden Brown, of Hilton, N. J., writes to 
me as follows : 

" My method of raising seedlings is the one practiced by Mr. Boyden. In 
August I set the plants from which I wish to secure new combinations in a plot of 
ground the size of my glass frame, and in early spring set the frame over them, so 
that the plants may blossom before any others. Thus, no mixture from the pollen 
of outside plants can take place, for none are in bloom save those in the frame. 
The plants within the frame are two or three pistillate plants, all of one good 
variety, like the Champion ; and three or four superior, perfect-flowering kinds, any 
one of which, I think, will make a good combination with the pistillate variety. 
The seeds from the pistillate only are used, and when the fruit is ripened, these seeds 
are slightly dried and placed between two pieces of ice for about two weeks. I 
then put them in pure sand, wrapped up in a wet rag, and keep them sufficiently 
near the fire to preserve constant warmth until the germs are ready to burst forth. 
I then sow the seeds in a bed of finely riddled rich earth, and cover with boards 
about six inches from the soil. This is to prevent the sun from drying the ground. 
Plants thus raised will be sufficiendy large to set in the fruiting-bed in September. 
In the fifteen years that I was acquainted with Mr. Boyden, I never knew him to 
fail in raising fruit from these plants the following summer. I do not know that 
Mr. Boyden's method has been improved upon." 



Origijiatiiig Neiv Varieties — Hybridization. 155 

Mr. J. M. Merrick, Jr., recommends this same isolation of the pistil- 
late plant under glass. 

It should be distinctly understood that while several perfect-flowering 
plants may be placed under the sash with a pistillate, the pollen of only 
one of these can fertilize a pistil. Mixing pollen from different kinds 
will never produce in a seedling the qualities of three or more varieties. 
The seedling is the product of two kinds only. Inclosing the plants 
in a frame insures that all the pistils are fertilized by one or the other 
of the perfect-flowered varieties that are so fine as to promise a better 
combination of excellence than yet exists. The appearance of the 
seedling will probably show which of the kinds formed the combination, 
but often there would be uncertainty on this point, I think. 

Mr. E. W. Durand, who sent out the Black Defiance, Great 
American, Beauty, Pioneer, and several others, claims that the " true 
method is to propagate by pairs, each parent possessing certain dis- 
tinctive features." ".My course," he writes, in a paper read before the 
N. J. State Horticultural Society, " is to select my pistillates after years 
of trial, subject them to severe tests, and place alongside of each such 
a staminate as I think will harmonize and produce a certain desired effect. 
Another pistillate plant, of the same variety, is placed far away from the 
last, with a different staminate, and so on, till I exhaust the staminates or 
perfect-flowering kinds that I wish to test with that pistillate variety. Of 
late years, I have used but two or three kinds of pistillate plants, and 
they are a combination of excellence. I never show them to my most 
intimate friends, and the public know nothing about them. The years of 
trial and experiment necessary to produce such plants must necessarily 
discourage a beginner; yet it is the only course that will lead to success." 

I think that Mr. Durand takes too gloomy a view of the subject, and 
I can see no reason why any one starting with such pistillates as the 
Golden Defiance, Champion and others, may not originate a variety 
superior to any now in existence. At the same time, I must caution 
against over-sanguine hopes. Mr. Durand states the interesting fact that 
he generally produces 3,000 new varieties annually, and including the 
year of 'yG, he had already originated about 50,000 seedlings. While 
some of these have already secured great celebrity, like the Great 
American, I do not know of one that promises to maintain a continued 
and national popularity. I regard his old Black Defiance and the later 
Pioneer as his best seedlings, so far as I have seen them. Very many 
others do not have even his success. We may have to experiment for 
years before we obtain a seedling worth preserving ; nevertheless, in the 



156 Success with Small Fruits. 

heart of each propagator lurks the hope that he may draw the prize of 
prizes. 

I will close this chapter with a few simple and practical suggestions. 
It is not necessary to place the seeds in ice. They may be sown in July, 
in rich soil, rendered fine and mellow, and in a half-shady position ; and 
the surface should be kept moist by watering, and a sprinkling of a little 
very fine compost, that will prevent the ground from baking. Some of 
the seeds will germinate that season, more will come up the following spring. 
Or, they may be started in a cold frame under glass, and hastened in 
their growth so that good-sized plants are ready for the fruiting-bed by 
September. Mr. Durand plants his seed in the spring, and the seedlings 
bear the following year. The plants should be set eighteen inches apart 
each way, in the fruiting-bed. When they blossom, note and mark all 
the pistillates as such. Those that grow feebly, and whose foliage scalds 
or burns in the sun, root out at once. The Spartan law of death to the 
feeble and deformed should be rigorously enforced in the fruit garden. 
The first year of fruiting will satisfy you that the majority of seedHngs are 
to be thrown away. Those that give special promise should be lifted with 
a large ball of earth, and planted where they may be kept pure from 
mixture, and given further trial. Remember that a seedling may do 
better the first year than ever after, and that only a continued and varied 
trial can prove its worth. All runners should be kept off, unless the 
ground is infested with grubs, and there is danger of losing a promising 
variety of which we have but one specimen. If so fortunate as to raise 
superior seedlings, test them .side by side, and under the same conditions 
with the best kinds in existence, before calling to them public attention. 
Try them, also, in light and heavy soils; and, if possible, send them to 
trusted friends who will subject them to varied climates in widely separated 
localities. If, however, you find them vigorous and productive on the 
Hght, poor soils of your own place, you may hope much for them else- 
where. No berry will be generally popular that requires much petting. 
I only state this as a fact. In my opinion, some varieties are so superb 
in size and flavor that they deserve high culture, and well repay it. 

It is a question whether, except for the purposes of propagation, 
pistillate varieties should be preserved and sent out. Mr. Fuller, and 
others, take ground against them, and their views are entitled to great 
respect, but with such kinds as the Golden Defiance and Champion in my 
garden, I am not prepared to condemn them. One objection urged 
against them is that many purchase a single variety, and, should it prove a 
pistillate, they would have no fruit. They would not deserve any, if they 



Originating Nezv Varieties — Hybridization. 157 

gave the subject so little attention. Every fruit catalogue states which are 
pistillates, and their need of a perfect-flowering kind near them. Again, 
it is urged that this necessary proximity of two kinds leads to mixtures. 
It need not, and, with the plant grower, can only result from gross careless- 
ness. The different beds may be yards apart. In order to secure 
thorough fertilization, it is not at all necessary to plant so near that the 
two kinds can run together. In a large field of pistillates, every tenth row 
should be of a staminate, blossoming at the same time with the pistillate. 
The Kentucky seedling is a first-class staminate, but it should not be used 
to fertilize the Crescent, since the latter would almost be out of bloom 
before the former began to blossom. Plant early pistillates with early 
staminates, and late with late. 

Many ask me, " Do strawberries mix by being planted near each 
other ? " They mix only by running together, so that you can scarcely 
distinguish the two kinds ; but a Wilson plant will produce Wilson runners 
to the end of time, and were one plant surrounded by a million other 
varieties, it would still maintain the Wilson characteristics. It is through 
the seeds, and seeds only, that one variety has any appreciable effect upon 
another. Many have confused ideas on this point. 

A man brought to the Centennial Exhibition, at Philadelphia, a pot of 
strawberries that attracted great attention, for the fruit was magnificent. 
I suggested to him that it resembled the Jucunda, and he said that it was 
a cross between that berry and the Seth Boyden. This was a combination 
that promised so well that I went twenty miles, on a ver}' hot day, to see 
his bed, and found that the crossing was simply the interlacing of the 
runners of the two distinct varieties, and that I could tell the intermingled 
Jucunda and Boyden plants apart at a glance. Such crossing would make 
no marked change in varieties if continued for centuries. 

The enemies and diseases of the strawberry will be grouped in a 
general chapter on these subjects. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



RASPBERRIES — SPECIES, HISTORY, PROPAGATION, ETC. 



I HAVE given the greater part of this vohime to the subject of straw- 
berries, not only because it is the most popular fruit, but also for the 
reason that the principles of thorough preparation of the soil, drainage, 
culture, &c., apply equally to the other small fruits. Those who have 
followed me carefully thus far, can soon master the conditions of success 
which apply to the fruits still to be treated. I shall now consider a fruit 
which is only second in value, and, by many, even preferred to all the 
others. 

Like the strawberry, the raspberry is well connected, since it, also, 
belongs to the Rose family. It has a perennial root, producing biennial 
woody stems that reach a height of from three to six feet. Varieties, 
however, differ greatly in this respect. Usually, the stems or canes do not 
bear until the second year, and that season ends their life, their place being 
taken by a new growth from the root. The flowers are white or red, very 
unobtrusive, and rich in sweetness. The discriminating bees forsake most 
other flowers while the raspberry blossoms last. The pistils on the convex 
receptacle mature into a collection of small drupes, or stone fruits, of the 
same character as the cherry, plum, etc., and the seeds within the drupes 
are miniature pits. These drupes adhere together, forming round or conical 
caps, which will drop from the receptacle when over- ripe. I have seen 
the ground covered with the fruit of certain varieties, when picking has 
been delayed. 

1S8 



Raspberries — Species, History, Propagation, Ete. 159 

All peoples seem to have had a feeling sense of the spines, or thorns, 
of this plant, as may be gathered from its name in different languages ; the 
Italian term is Raspo, the Scotch Raspis, and the German Kratsberre, or 
Scratchberry. 

The Greeks traced the raspberry to Mount Ida, and the original bush 
may have grown in the shadowy glade where the " Shepherd Alexandre," 
alias Paris, son of Priam, King of Troy, gave his fateful decision in favor 
of Venus. Juno and Minerva undoubtedly beguiled the time, while the 
favored goddess presented her claims, by eating the fruit, and, perhaps, 
enhanced their competitive beauty by touching their cheeks with an 
occasional berry. At any rate, the raspberry of the ancients is Rubus 
Ideeus. 

The elder Pliny, who wrote not far from 45 A. D., states that the Greeks 
distinguished the raspberry bramble by the term '' Idesa," and, like so many 
other Grecian ideas, it has found increasing favor ever since. Mr. A. S. 
Fuller, one of the best-read authorities on these subjects, writes that 
" Paladius, a Roman agricultural author, who flourished in the fourth 
century, mentions the raspberry as one of the cultivated fruits of his time." 
It thus appears that it was promoted to the garden long before the straw- 
berry was so honored. 

While it is true that the raspberry in various forms is found wild 
throughout the continent, and that the ancient gardeners in most instances 
obtained their supply of plants in the adjacent fields or forests, the late 
Mr. A. J. Downing is of the opinion that the large-fruited foreign varieties 
are descendants of the " Mount Ida Bramble," and from that locality were 
introduced into the gardens of Southern Europe. 

In America, two well-known and distinct species are enriching our 
gardens and gracing our tables with their healthful fruit. We will first 
name R. Sti^igosjis, or the wild red raspberry, almost as dear to our memory 
as the wild strawberry. It grows best along the edge of woodlands and in 
half-shadowy places that seem equally adapted to lovers' rambles. In just 
such a nook as we perhaps recall, the artist has portrayed a youth who, with 
a cluster of the ruby fruit, is heightening the effect of love's shy signals. 
The crimson, melting berry is the type of their present experience. The 
fates forbid that the Scotch term, Raspis, should suggest what is to come ! 

Nature, too, in a kindly mood, seems to have scattered the seeds of this 
fruit along the road-side, thus fringing the highway in dusty, hot July with 
ambrosial food. 

Professor Gray thus describes the native red species : " R. Strigosus, 
Wild Red R. Common, especially North; from two to three feet high; 



i6o 



Success with Si nail Pniits. 



the upright stems, stalks, etc., beset with copious bristles, and some of 
them becoming weak prickles, also glandular ; leaflets oblong-ovate, 
pointed, cut-serrate, white-downy beneath, the lateral ones (either one or 




Is 





Nature's Rouge. 

two pairs) not stalked ; petals as long as the sepals ; fruit light-red, tender 
and watery, but high flavored, ripening all summer." 

The second great American species, R. Occidentalis, will be described 
hereafter. Since this book is not designed to teach botany, I shall not 
refer to the other species, — R. Tj'iflorus, R. Odoratiis, R. Nutkanno, etc., — 
which are of no practical value, and, for the present, will confine myself 
to the propagation and cultivation of R. Idceus and R. Strigosus, and their 
seedlings. 



PROPAGATION. 

Usually, varieties of these two species throw up suckers from the 
roots in sufficient abundance for all practical purposes, and these 
young canes from between the hills or rows are, in most instances, the 



Propaga tion . 1 6 1 

plants of commerce, and the means of extending our plantations. But 
where a variety is scarce, or the purpose is to increase it rapidly, we can 
dig out the many interlacing roots that fill the soil between the hills, cut 
them into two-inch pieces, and each may be developed within a year into 
a good plant. Fall is the best season for making root cuttings, and it can 
be continued as late as the frost permits. My method is to store the roots 
in a cellar, and cut them from time to time, after out-of-door work is over. 
I have holes bored in the bottom of a box to insure drainage, spread over 
it two inches of moist (not wet) earth, then an inch layer of the root cut- 
tings, a thin layer of earth again, then cuttings until the box is full. If the 
cellar is cool and free from frost, the cuttings may be kept there until 
spring ; or the boxes containing them can be buried so deeply on a dry 
knoll in a garden as to be below frost. Leaves piled above them insure 
safety. Make sure that the boxes are buried where no water can collect 
either on or beneath the surface. Before new roots can be made by a cut- 
ting, a whitish excrescence appears at both its ends, called the callus, and 
from this the rootlets start out. This essential process goes on throughout 
the winter, and therefore the advantage of making cuttings in the fall. 
Occasionally, in the fall, we may obtain a variety that we are anxious 
to increase, in which case some of the roots may be taken off for cuttings 
before setting out the plants. 

These little root-slips may be sown, as one would sow peas, early in 
the spring, as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. A plot of rich, 
moist land should be chosen, and the soil made mellow and fine, as if for 
seed ; drills should then be opened eighteen inches apart, two inches deep 
on heavy land, and three inches deep on light. The cuttings must now be 
dropped three inches from each other in the little furrows, the ground 
leveled over them and firmed, which is best done by walking on a board 
laid on the covered drill, or else by the use of a garden roller. If the 
entire cutting-bed were well sprinkled with fine compost, and then covered 
so lightly — from one-quarter to half an inch — with a mulch of straw that 
the shoots could come through it without hindrance, scarcely a cutting 
would fail. Unfailing moisture, without wetness, is what a cutting 
requires. 

Roots may be divided into half-inch bits, if forced under glass, and in 
this way nurserymen often speedily provide themselves with large stocks 
of very scarce varieties. The cuttings are placed in boxes of sand until 
the callus forms, and little buds appear on the surface of the roots, for 
which processes about five weeks are required. They are then sown in 
shallow boxes containing about three inches of soil, formed of equal parts 

21 



1 62 Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

of sand and decayed leaves, and subjected to the heat of the green-house. 
When they have formed plants from three to five inches high, they may be 
potted, if very valuable ; or, if the weather is warm enough, they can be 
transplanted at once into the open nursery-bed, as one would a strawberry 
plant. I have set out many thousands in this way, only aiming to keep a 
little earth clinging to the roots as I took them from the shallow box. 
Plants grown from cuttings are usually regarded as the best ; but if a sucker 
plant is taken up with fibrous roots, I should regard it as equally good. 

If we wish to try our fortune in originating new varieties, we 
gather the largest and earliest berries, dry them and plant the seeds the 
following spring ; or we may separate the seeds from the pulp by express- 
ing it and mixing them with dry sand, until they are in a condition to 
be sown evenly in a sheltered place at once. As with strawberries, 
they should be raked lightly into moist, rich soil, the surface of which 
should not be allowed to become dry and hard. The probabilities are 
that they will germinate early in the spring and produce canes strong 
enough to bear the second year. If the seed is from a kind that cannot 
endure frost, the young plant should receive thorough winter protection. 
There is nothing better than a covering of earth. In the spring of the 
second year, cut the young plant down to the ground, and it will send 
up a strong, vigorous cane, whose appearance and fruit will give a fair 
suggestion of its value the third year. Do not be sure of a prize, even 
though the berries are superb and the new variety starts off most 
vigorously. Let me give a bit of experience. In a fine old garden, 
located in the center of the city of Newburgh, N. Y., my attention was 
attracted by the fruit of a raspberry bush whose roots were so inter- 
laced with those of a grape-vine that they could not be separated. It 
scarcely seemed to have a fair chance to live at all, and yet it was 
loaded with the largest and most delicious red raspberries that I had 
then ever seen. It was evidently a chance, and very distinct seedling. 
I obtained from Mr. T. H. Roe, the proprietor of the garden, permission 
to propagate the variety, and in the autumn removed a number of the 
canes to my place at Cornwall. My first object was to learn whether it 
was hardy, and, therefore, not the slightest protection was given the 
canes at Newburgh, nor even to those removed to my own place, some 
of which were left four feet high for the sake of this test. The winter 
that followed was one of the severest known ; the mercury sank to 30° 
below zero, but not a plant at either locality was injured; and in the 
old garden a cane fourteen feet long, that rested on the grape-arbor, was 
alive to the tip, and in July was loaded with the most beautiful fruit I had 



Propagation. 1 63 

ever seen. It was uninjured by the test of another winter, and all who 
saw and tasted the fruit were enthusiastic in its praise. The Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural Society awarded it their first premium, and Mr. 
Charles Downing said it was the finest red raspberry he had ever seen. 
The veteran horticulturist, Mr. Wm. Parry, who has had between forty 
and fifty years of experience in small fruits, visited my place that 
summer. The bushes he saw had never received any protection, and had 
already been three weeks in bearing, but they were still full of fruit. 
After picking several berries that measured plump three inches in cir- 
cumference, he said, quietly, "Put me down for 500 plants." In no other 
way could he have stated his favorable opinion more emphatically. It 
w^as as delicious as it was large and beautiful, and surely I was reasonable 
in expecting for it a brilliant future. In my faith, I planted it largely 
myself, expecting to make it my main dependence as a market berry. 
But in August, of that year, many of the canes lost their foliage. Those 
that thus suffered were not entirely hardy the following winter. It was 
eventually made clear that it belonged to the tender Rubus Idceus class, 
and, therefore, was not adapted to general cultivation, especially on 
light soils, and under sunny skies. As I have shown, its start was so 
full of vigor and promise that it won the favor and confidence of the 
horticultural veterans ; but it suddenly manifested lack of stamina and 
sturdy persistence in well-doing. And this is just the trouble which every 
experienced propagator dreads. Only after years of test and trial in many 
localities can he be assured that his seedling may become a standard variety. 

If this chance seedling, the Pride of the Hudson, is given a moist 
soil in some half-shady location, it will yield fruit that will delight 
the amateur's heart, but, like Brinkle's Orange, which it resembles in 
flavor, only amateurs will give it the petting it requires. 

As suggested when treating the strawberry, so in seeking to originate 
new varieties of raspberries, our aim should be to develop our hardy 
native species, the R. Strigosus, and, if we employ the R. Idceus class for 
parentage on one side, seek its most vigorous representatives, such as 
the Belle de Fontenaye and Franconia. 

CHOICE OF LAND — ITS PREPARATION — PLANTING. 

All that has been said about the thorough preparation of the soil 
for strawberries, by drainage, deep plowing, trenching, etc., applies 
to raspberries, but differences should be noted in respect to fertilizers. 
Land can scarcely be made too rich for any variety of strawberries, 



164 



Success with Small Fj^uiis. 



but certain strong-growing raspberries, like the Cuthbert, Herstine, 
and Turner, should not be over-fertilized. Some kinds demand good, 
clean culture, rather than a richness that would cause too great a 
growth of cane and foliage. In contrast, the feebler growing kinds, 
like the Brandywine, and most of the foreign varieties, require abun- 
dance of manure. Muck, sweetened by lime and frost, is one of the 
simplest and best ; but anything will answer that is not too full of heat 
and ferment. Like the strawberry, the raspberry needs cool manures 
that have "staying" qualities. Unlike the former fruit, however, the 
raspberry does well in partial shade, such as that furnished by the 
northern side of a fence, hedge, etc., by a pear or even apple orchard, 
if the trees still permit wide intervals of open sky. The red varieties, 
especially those of the foreign type, much prefer moist, heavy soils ; but 
the black-caps do quite as well on light ground, if moisture can be 
maintained. The latter, also, can be grown farther south than any 
other species ; but below the latitude of New York, those containing 
foreign elements begin to fail rapidly, until, at last, a point is reached 
where even the most vigorous native red varieties refuse to live. If the 

climate, however, is tempered 
by height above the sea, as in 
the mountains of Georgia, 
they will thrive abundantly. 

I prefer fall planting for 
raspberries, especially in 
southern latitudes, for these 
reasons : At the points where 
the roots branch (see Fig, A), 
are buds which make the 
future stems or canes. In the 
fall, these are dormant, small, 
and not easily broken off, as 
in Fig. B ; but they start early 
in spring, and if planting is 
delayed, these become so long 
and brittle that the utmost 
care can scarcely save them. If rubbed off, the development of good 
bearing canes is often deferred a year, although the plants may live 
and fill the ground with roots. The more growth a raspberry plant 
has made when set out in spring, the greater the probability that it will 
receive a check, from which it will never recover. 




Spring and Fall Plants. 



Choice of Land — Its Preparation — Planting. 165 

I have often planted in May and June, successfully, by taking up 
the young suckers when from six inches to a foot high, and setting them 
where they are to grow. Immediately on taking them up, I cut them 
back so that only one or two inches of the green cane is left, and thus 
the roots are not taxed to sustain wood and foliage beyond their power. 
This can often be done to advantage, when the plants are on one's own 
place, and in moist, cloudy weather. My preference, however, is to plant 
the latter part of October and through November, in well-prepared and 
enriched land. The holes are made quite deep and large, and the bottom 
filled with good surface soil. If possible, before planting, plow and cross- 
plow deeply, and have a subsoiler follow in each furrow. It should be 
remembered that we are preparing for a crop which may occupy the land 
for ten or fifteen years, and plants will suffer from every drouth if set 
immediately on a hard subsoil. On heavy land, I set the plants one 
inch deeper than they were ^ "^ '^ 

before ; on light soils two or T H (I T) , ' '^ 

three inches deeper. I cut t ii ^ 

the canes off" six inches 



above the surface (see Fig. ^, ' *^ '^ f '(%'^^^'v' 

C), for leaving long canes is ' ' 

often ruinous, and a plant is ^.^^^^ Protection of Newl^y Set Plants. 

frequently two or three years 

in recovering from the strain of trying to produce fruit the first year. 
The whole strength of the roots should go toward producing bearing 
canes for the season following ; and to stimulate such growth, I throw 
directly on the hill one or two shovelfuls of finely rotted compost 
and then mound the earth over the hill until the cane is wholly 
covered (as in Fig. D). This prevents all injury from the winter's cold. 
When severe frosts are over, the mound is leveled down again. Under 
this system, I rarely .lose plants, and usually find that double growth is 
made compared with those set late in spring. I have always succeeded 
well, however, in early spring planting ; and well to the north, this is, 
perhaps, the safer season. With the exception of mounding the earth 
over the hill, plant in March or April as I have already directed. 



CULTIVATION. 

In cultivation, keep the ground level — do not let it become banked up 
against the hills, as is often the case, especially with those tender varieties that 



1 66 Success with Small Fniits. 

are covered with earth every winter. Keep the surface clean and mellow by 
the use of the cultivator and hoe. With the exception of from four to six 
canes in the hill, treat all suckers as weeds, cutting them down while they 
are little — before they have sucked half the life out of the bearing hill. Put 
a shovelful or two of good compost — any fertilizer is better than none — 
around the hills or along the rows, late in the fall, and work it lightly in 
with a fork if there is time. The autumn and winter rains will carry 
it down to the roots, giving almost double vigor and fruitfulness the follow- 
ing season. If the top-dressing is neglected in the autumn, be sure to 
give it as early in the spring as possible, and work it down toward the 
roots. Bone dust, ashes, poudrette, barn-yard manure, and muck 
with lime can be used alternate years, so as to give variety of plant 
food, and a plantation thus sustained can be kept twenty years or more; but 
under the usual culture, vigor begins to fail after the eighth or tenth season. 
The first tendency of most varieties of newly set red raspberries is to 
sucker immoderately ; but this gradually declines, even with the most ram- 
pant, and under good culture the fruiting qualities improve. 

In dry weather, the fork should not be used during the growing or 
bearing season. The turning down of a strata of dry, hot soil next to the 
roots must cause a sudden check and injury from which only a soaking 
rain can bring full relief But in moist weather, and periods preceding and 
following the blossoming and fruiting season, I have often used the fork to 
advantage, especially if there is a sod of short, succulent weeds to be turned 
under as a green crop. If the ground between the hills was stirred 
frequently with an iron garden- rake, the weeds would not have a chance to 
start. This is by far the best and cheapest way of maintaining our part in 
the unceasing conflict with vegetable evil. An Irish bull hits the truth 
exactly — the best way to fight weeds is to have none to fight; and raking 
the ground over on a sunny day, about once a week, destroys them when 
they are as yet but germinating seeds. At the same time, it opens the 
pores of the earth, as a physiologist might express himself Unfailing 
moisture is maintained, air, light and heat are introduced to the roots in 
accordance with Nature's taste, and the whole strength of the mellow soil 
goes to produce only that which is useful. But this teaching is like the 
familiar and sound advice — " Form no bad habits." We do form them ; 
the weeds do get the start of us, and therefore, as a practical fact, the old 
moral and physical struggle must go on until the end of time. 



CHAPTER XX. 



RASPBERRIES — PRUNING — STAKING — MULCHING — WINTER 
PROTECTION, ETC. 

T TSUALLY, there is no pruning either in the field or the garden beyond 
U the cutting out of the old canes and the shortening in of the new 
growth. There is a difference of opinion as to whether the old canes 
should be cut out immediately after fruiting, or left to natural decay, and 
removed the following fall or spring. I prefer the former course. It cer- 
tainly is neater, and I think I have seen increased growth in the young 
canes, for which more room is made, and to whose support the roots can 
give their whole strength. The new growth can make foliage fast enough 
to develop the roots ; still, I have not experimented carefully, and so 
cannot speak accurately. We see summer pruning often advocated on 
paper, but I have rarely met it in practice. If carefully done at the 
proper season, however, much can be accomplished by it in the way of 
making strong, stocky plants, capable of standing alone — plants full of 
lateral branches, like little trees, that will be loaded with fruit. But this 
summer pinching back must be commenced early, while the new, succulent 
growth is under full headway, and continued through the busiest season, 
when strawberries are ripe and harvest is beginning. It should not be 
done after the cane has practically made its growth, or else the buds that 
ought to remain dormant until the following season are started into a late 
and feeble growth that does not ripen before the advent of early frosts. 
Few have time for pruning in May or June. If they have, let them try it 
by all means, especially on the black-cap species. It does not require so 

167 



1 68 Success with Small Fruits. 

much time as it does prompt action at the proper period of growth. In 
the garden, summer pinching can transform a raspberry bush into an orna- 
mental shrub as beautiful as useful. It is much better adapted to the 
hardier varieties than to those that must be bent down and covered with 
earth. With the R. Occidentalis species, summer pinching would always 
pay well. The best I can do, usually, with the red varieties, is to prune in 
November and March — it should be done before the buds develop. Unless 
early fruit is wanted, I believe in cutting back heroically. Nature once gave 
me a very useful hint. One very cold winter, a row of Clarke raspberries 
was left unprotected. The canes were four or five feet high, but were killed 
down to the snow-level, or within eighteen inches of the ground ; but from 
what was left uninjured, we had as many and far finer berries than were 
gathered from other rows where the canes had been left their full length and 
protected by a covering of earth. The fruit was later, however. I would 
remind careful observers of the raspberry how often buds on canes that 
have been broken off or cut away back develop into long sprays, enormously 
fruitful of the largest berries. I have counted fifty, and even eighty, berries 
on a branch that had grown from a single bud within one or two feet of the 
ground. These lower buds often do not start at all when the canes are left 
their full, or nearly their full length. In the latter case, the fruit ripens 
much earlier and more together, and since an early crop, though inferior 
in quality and quantity, may be more valuable than a late one, the fruit 
grower often objects to pruning. But in the garden, while the canes of 
some early kinds are left their full length, I would recommend that others, 
especially those of the later varieties, be cut back one-half Even for 
market purposes, I believe that the superb fruit resulting from such pruning 
would bring more money in most instances. At any rate, the season of 
bearing would be greatly prolonged. 

Mulching on a large scale would not pay in most localities. In regions 
where salt hay, flags, etc., can be cut in abundance, or when straw is so 
plenty as to be of little value, it no doubt could be applied profitably. On 
Staten Island, I have seen large patches mulched with salt hay. The canes 
were unstaked, and many of them bent over on the clean hay with their 
burden of fruit. When there are no stakes or other support used, the 
berries certainly should be kept from contact with the soil. The chief 
advantage of the mulch, however, is in the preservation of moisture. When 
it is given freely, all the fruit perfects, and in a much longer succession. 
The weeds and suckers are kept down, and the patch has a neat appear- 
ance. Moreover, mulching prevents the foliage from burning, and enables 
the gardener to grow successfully the finer varieties farther to the south 



Pruning — Staking — Mulching — Winter Protection, Etc. 169 



and on light soils. In keeping down the weeds through the long summer, 
a mulch of leaves, straw, or any coarse litter, is often far less costly than 
would be the labor required. 

Staking raspberries is undoubtedly the best, simplest and cheapest 
method of supporting the canes of most varieties and in most localities. I 
agree with the view taken by Mr. A. S. Fuller. " Chestnut stakes," he 
writes, " five feet long and two or three inches in diameter, made from large 
trees, cost me less than two cents each, and my location is within twenty 
miles of New York city, where timber of all kinds commands a large price. 
I cannot afford to grow raspberries without staking, because every stake 
will save on an average ten cents' worth of fruit, and, in many instances, 
three times that amount." Of course, split chestnut stakes look the 
neatest and last the longest ; but a raspberry bush is not fastidious, and I 
utilize old bean-poles, limbs of trees — anything that keeps the canes from 
sprawling in the dirt with their delicate fruit. Thus, in many instances, 
the stakes will cost little more than a boy's labor in preparing them, and 
they can be of various lengths, according to the height of our canes. As 
they become too much decayed for further use, they make a cheery blaze 
on the hearth during the early autumn evenings. There are stocky 
growing varieties, like the Cuthbert, Turner, Herstine and others, that by 
summer pruning or vigorous cutting back would be self-supporting, if not 
too much exposed to high winds. The question is a very practical one, 
and should be decided largely by ex- 
perience and the grower's locality. 
There are fields and regions in which 
gales, and especially thunder -gusts, 
would prostrate into the dirt the 
stoutest bushes that could be formed 
by summer pruning, breaking down 
canes heavy with green and ripe fruit. 
In saving a penny stake, a bit of 
string, and the moment required for 
tying, one might be made to feel, after 
a July storm, that he had been too 
thrifty. As far as my experience and 
observation go, I would either stake 
all my bushes that stood separately and singly, or else would grow 
them in a loose, continuous, bushy row, and keep the fruit clean by some 
kind of mulch. Splashed, muddy berries are not fit either to eat or 
to sell. 
22 




WX 



a. Ca7tes S7iiigly tied. b. Ca?ies improperly tied. 

Right and Wrong Ways of Tying Canes. 



I/O 



Success with Small Fruits. 



In many localities, however, stakes are dispensed v/ith. In the garden, 
wires, fastened to posts, are occasionally stretched along the rows, and 
the canes tied to these. The method in this section, however, is to 
insert stakes firmly in the hill, by means of a pointed crowbar, and the 
canes are tied to them as early in spring as possible. Unless watched, the 
boys who do the tying persist in leaving the upper cords of the canes loose. 
These unsupported ends, when weighted with fruit and foliage, break, of 
course. The canes should be snugly tied their whole length. 

If bushes made stocky by summer pruning are supported, let the stake 
be inserted on the side opposite from which heavy winds are expected. 



WINTER PROTECTION — TAKING UP PLANTS FOR SPRING 

STORING THEM. 



USE- 



Nearly all foreign varieties and their seedlings need winter protection, 
or are the better for it, north of the latitude of New York city. Many 
of the hardier kinds, like the Herstine and Clarke, will usually survive if 
bent over and kept close to the earth by the weight of poles or a shovelful 
or two of soil ; but all of the Antwerp class need to be entirely covered. 
To many, this winter covering is a great bugbear, even when only a 
small patch in the garden is involved. There is a 
constant demand for "perfectly hardy" varieties. It 
should be remembered that many of the best kinds 
are not hardy at all, and that perhaps none are 
"perfectly hardy." The Turner has never been 
injured on my place, and the Cuthbert is rarely 
hurt ; but occasionally they are partially killed, 
more by alternations of freezing and thawing than 
by steady cold. What are termed " open winters " 

are often the 
most destruct- 
ive. I find that 
it pays to cover 
all those kinds 
that are liable 
to injury, and, 
as the varieties 

Pruning and Laying Down Canes. , ., , 

are described, 
this need will be distinctly stated. The difficulties of covering are 
chiefly imaginary, and it can be done by the acre at comparatively 




Winter Pi^otection — Taking up Plaiits for Spring Use. 



171 



slight cost. The vast crops of the Hudson River Antwerp were raised 
from fields covered every fall. In the garden, I do not consider the 
labor worth naming in comparison with the advantages secured. Those 
who find time to carefully cover their cabbages and gather turnips should 
not talk of the trouble of protecting a row of delicious Herstine raspberries. 
Still, Nature is very indulgent to the lazy, and has given us as fine a 
raspberry as the Cuthbert, which, thus far with but few exceptions, has 
endured our Northern winters. In November, I have the labor of 
covering performed in the following simple way : B is a hill with canes 
untrimmed. C, the canes have been shortened one-third — my rule 
in pruning. After trimming, the canes are ready to be laid down, and they 

should all be bent one way. 
To turn them sharply over 
and cover them with earth, 
would cause many of the 




Stoiage Ground for Raspbeuies, Currantb, etc 



stronger ones to break just above the root, so I have 
a shovelful of soil thrown on one side of the hill, as 
in Fig. C, and the canes bent over this little mound. 

They thus describe a curve, instead of lying at right angles on the surface, 
with a weight of earth upon them. A boy holds the cane down, while a 
man on either side of the row rapidly shovels the earth upon them. If 
the work is to be done on a large scale, one or two shovelfuls will pin 
the canes to the earth, and then, by throwing a furrow over them on both 
sides with a plow, the labor is soon accomplished. It will be necessary to 
follow the plow with a shovel, and increase the covering here and there. 
In spring, as soon as hard frosts are over, the first week in April, in our 
latitude, usually, — begin at the end of the row toward which the 
canes were bent, and with a fork throw and push the earth aside and 



1/2 Success with Small Fruits. 

gently lift the canes out of the soil, taking pains to level the ground 
thoroughly, and not leave it heaped up against the hills. This should not 
be done when the earth is wet and sticky. Keep off the ground at such 
times, unless the season is growing so late that there is danger of the canes 
decaying if not exposed to the air. The sooner they are staked and tied 
up after uncovering, the better. 

For market or other purposes, we may wish a number of young plants, 
in which case there is much room for good sense in taking them up. 
Many lay hold upon the canes and pull so hastily that little save sticks 
come out. A gardener wants fibrous roots rather than top : therefore, send 
the spade down under the roots and pry them out. Suckers and root-cutting 
plants can be dug in October, after the wood has fairly ripened, but be care- 
ful to leave no foliage on the canes that are taken up before the leaves fall, 
for they rapidly drain the vitality of the plants. It is best to cut the canes 
down to within a foot of the surface before digging. I prefer taking up all 
plants for sale or use in the latter part of October and November, and 
those not set out or disposed of are stored closely in trenches, with the 
roots a foot or more below the surface. By thus burying them deeply 
and by leaving on them a heavy covering of leaves, they are kept in a 
dormant state quite late in spring, and so can be handled without breaking 
off the buds which make the future canes. But, as we have already said, 
the earlier they are planted after the frost is out, the better. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



RASPBERRIES — VARIETIES OF THE FOREIGN AND NATIVE SPECIES. 



THIS chapter will treat first of the imported kinds, which usually are 
more or less tender, and then, by way of contrast, of the hardy varie- 
ties of our native R. Strigosus. 

I shall speak of those only that are now in general cultivation, naming 
a few, also, whose popularity in the past has been so great as to entitle 
them to mention. 

As was true of strawberries, so also varieties of raspberries, that won 
name and fame abroad, were imported, and a few of them have adapted 
themselves so well to American soil and climate as to have become 
standards of excellence. Among the best-known of these formerly was 
the Red Antwerp of England. Few old-fashioned gardens were without 
it at one time, but it is fast giving way to newer and more popular varie- 
ties. The canes are vigorous, stocky and tall ; spines light-red, numerous 
and rather strong. Winter protection is always needed. The berries are 
large and very obtuse conical, dark-red, large- grained, and covered with a 
thick bloom, very juicy, and exceedingly soft — too much so for market 
purposes. They made a dainty dish for home use, however, and our 
grandmothers, when maidens, gathered them in the lengthening summer 
shadows. 

The Hudson River Antwerp, the most celebrated foreign berry in 
America, is quite distinct from the above, although belonging to the 
same family. It is shorter and more slender in its growth, quite free 



174 



Success zvith Small Fniits. 



from spines, and its canes are of a peculiar mouse-color. Its fruit is 
even larger, but firm, decidedly conical, not very bright when fully ripe, 
and rather dry, but sweet and agreeable in flavor. Mr. Downing says 
that its origin is unknown, and that it was brought to this country by 



If 






.x^\ 



^1] 




hiB 



t^- 



h-^ 



m^ 



Gathering a Dainty Dish. 

the late Mr. Briggs, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. " As this gentleman was 
leaving England " (thus the story is told, Mr Downing writes to me), 
"he visited a friend to say good-bye, and solicited this new raspberry. 
Since he was leaving the country, and could cause no injury to the sale 
of plants, his friend gave him a few in parting, although three guineas 



Varieties of the Foreign and Native Species. 175 

had been refused for a single plant hitherto, in the careful effort to 
secure a large stock before putting the variety on the market." Its 
name suggests Belgium as its original home. 

This Antwerp continues long in bearing, and the berries begin to 
ripen early. The good carrying qualities of the fruit, combined with 
great productiveness, made it at one time the most profitable market 
berry in this section ; but its culture was chiefly confined to a narrow 
strip on the west shore of the Hudson, extending from Cornwall to 
Kingston. For some obscure reasons, it did not thrive in other local- 
ities, and now it appears to be failing fast in its favorite haunt. A 
disease called the "curl-leaf" is destroying some of the oldest and largest 
plantations, and the growers are looking about for hardier and more 
vigorous varieties. But in its palmy days, and even still, the Hudson 
River Antwerp was one of the great productions of the country, 
sending barges and steamers nightly to New York laden with ruby 
cones, whose aroma was often very distinct on the lee shore while the 
boats were passing. This enormous business had in part a chance 
and curious origin, and a very small beginning ; while the celebrated 
variety itself, which eventually covered so many hundreds of acres on the 
west bank of the Hudson, may be traced back through two lines of 
ancestry. An English gardener, who probably obtained the plants from 
Mr; Briggs, gave some of them to a Mr. Samuel Barnes, who resided 
in Westchester County. From him, Mr. Thos. H. Burling, of New 
Rochelle, N. Y., secured an abundant supply for his home garden. 
Here its value was observed by Mr. Nathaniel Hallock, who transferred 
some of the canes to his place at Milton, N. Y. From his garden 
they spread over many fields beside his own. 

In respect to the other line of ancestry of this historical berry, 
I am indebted for the following facts to Mr. W. C. Young, of Marl- 
boro', N. Y. : Many years ago, a bundle of raspberry plants was 
left at a meat-market in Poughkeepsie, and Mr. Watters, the proprietor 
of the place, kept them several days, expecting that they would be 
called for. As they remained upon his hands, he planted them in his 
garden, where, like genuine worth, they soon asserted their superiority. 
Mr. Edward Young, of Marlboro', a relative of Mr. Watters, received a 
present of a few roots, which supplied his family with the largest and 
most beautiful berries he had ever seen. Good propagates itself as well 
as evil if given a chance, and Mr. Young soon had far more fruit than 
was needed by his family, and he resolved to try the fortunes of his 
favorite in New York market. " For this purpose," his son writes, " my 



1/6 



Success with Small Fruits. 




Antwerp Class of Raspberries. 






-^*— 



Varieties of the Foreign and Native Species. 



177 



father procured- imported fancy willow baskets, holding about one pint 
each, and carefully packed these in crates made for the purpose. This 
mode proved a success, both in carrying them securely and in making them 
very attractive. The putting up such a fine variety of fruit in this way 
gave it notoriety at once, and it brought at first as much as one dollar 




per quart. My father was so well 
satisfied with his experiment that 
he advised his sons, Alexander, 
Edward and myself, to extend the 
culture of this variety largely. 
We entered into the business, and, 
pursuing it with diligence, were 
well compensated. Our success 
made others desirous of engaging 
in it, and so it spread out into 
its large dimensions." Mr. Taber's 
graphic picture of " Rush for the night boat " suggests how extensive 
that business became. The line of wagons at Marlboro' Landing 
was often nearly half a mile long. Mr. Alexander Young estimates 
that in the year 1858 1,000,000 pint baskets, or about 14,700 bushels, 
23 



The Rush for the Night Boat. 



1/8 



Success with Small Fndts. 



were shipped from Marlboro' ; but adds that, since " i860 it has decreased 
as fast. From present appearances, the variety must become extinct, 
and I fear will never have its equal." Milton, Cornwall, Newburgh, 





The Approach of the Night Boat. 

and other points competed in the profitable industry, and now, with 
Marlboro', are replacing the failing variety with other kinds more 
vigorous in growth, but thus far inferior in quality. 

That the great industry is not falling off is shown by the following 
statement, taken from the New York Tribune in the summer of 1879: 
" The village of Highland, opposite Poughkeepsie, runs a berry boat daily 
to New York, and the large night steamers are now taking out immense 
loads of raspberries from the river towns every evening, having at times 
nearly 2,000 bushels on board." 

From as careful a computation as I have been able to make, through 
the courtesy of the officers of the large Kingston boats, the Baldwin and 
Cornell, I am led to believe that these two steamers unitedly carried to the 
city over twenty thousand bushels of berries that same year. The magni- 
tude of this industry on the Hudson will be still better realized when it is 



Varieties of the Foreign and Native Species. 



179 



remembered that several other freight boats divide this traffic with the 
Kingston steamers. 

When we consider what a dehcate and perishable fruit this is, it can be 
understood that gathering and packing it properly is no bagatelle. Some- 
times you will find the fruit grower's family in the field, from the matron 
down to the little ones that cannot reach the highest berries. But the home 
force is wholly insufficient, and any one who will pick — man, woman or child — 
is employed. Therefore, drifting through the river towns during June and 
July, are found specimens almost as picturesque, if not so highly colored, 
as those we saw at Norfolk, — poor whites from the back country and 
mountains ; people from the cities on a humble " lark," who cannot afford 
to rusticate at a hotel ; semi-tramps, who have not attained to the final 
stage of aristocratic idleness, wherein the offer of work is an insult which 
they resent by burning a barn. Rude shanties, with bunks, are fitted up to 
give all the shelter they require. Here they lead a gypsy life, quite as 
much to their taste as camping in the Adirondacks, cooking and smoking 
through the June twilight, and as oblivious of the exquisite scenery about 




Picking Raspberries on a Hill-side. 

them as the onion-eating peasants of Italy ; but when picking the fruit on 
a sunny slope, and half hidden by the raspberry bushes, Nature blends 
them with the scene so deftly that even they become picturesque. 



i8o Success with Small Fniits. 

The little round " thirds," as they are termed, into which the berries 
are gathered, are carried out of the sunlight to sheds and barns ; the packer 
receives them, giving tickets in exchange, and then, too often with the 
deliberation and ease induced by the summer heat, packs them in crates. 
As a result, there is frequently a hurry-scurry later in the day to get the 
berries off in time. The sketches from Mr. A. G. Clark's thriving fruit 
farm are suggestive portraitures of certain phases of midsummer life in the 
Hudson raspberry regions. 

The Fastollf, Northumberland Fillbasket, and Knevett's Giant are fine 
old English varieties that are found in private gardens, but have never 
made their way into general favor. 

The Franconia is now the best foreign variety we have. It was intro- 
duced from Paris by Mr. S. G. Perkins, of Boston, about thirty-seven years 
ago, and is a large, obtuse conical berry, firm, thus carrying well to market, 
and although a little sour, its acid is of a rich, sprightly character. It is 
raised largely in Western New York, and in northern latitudes is one of the 
most profitable. 

It is almost hardy in the vicinity of Rochester, receiving by some 
growers no winter protection. Its lack of hardiness with us, and farther 
southward, is due to its tendency — common to nearly all foreign berries — 
to lose its foliage in August. I am inclined to think that it would prove 
one of the most profitable in Canada, and that if it were simply pinned 
down to the surface of the ground, and thus kept under the deep snows, it 
would rarely suffer from the cold. It should be distinctly understood that 
the climate of Canada, if winter protection is given, — indeed, I may say, 
without protection, — is far better adapted to tender raspberries than that 
of New Jersey, Virginia, or even Pennsylvania. 

The long continuance of the Franconia in bearing is one of its best 
qualities. We usually enjoy its fruit for six weeks together. Its almost 
globular shape is in contrast with another excellent French variety, the 
Belle de Fontenay, a large, long, conical, but somewhat irregular-shaped 
berry of very superior flavor. Mr. Fuller says that it is entirely hardy. 
It survives the winter without protection on my grounds. The canes are 
very stocky and strong, and unless growing thickly together are branching. 
Its most marked characteristic, however, is a second crop in autumn, pro- 
duced on the tips of the new canes. If the canes of the previous year are 
cut even with the ground early in spring, the new growth gives a very 
abundant autumn crop of berries, which, although much inclined to crumble 
in picking, and to be irregular in shape, have still the rare flavor of a 
delicious fruit long out of season. It certainly is the best of the 
fall-bearing kinds, and deserves a place in every garden. There are 



Varieties of the Foreign and Native Species. 



i8l 










sSf-V't '.% 







■^f^^^ 






^*4^-i 



Franconia and Belle de Fontennv Rasp- 
berries, with an autumn branch 
of the latter. 



more profitable market varie- 
ties, however; but, if the suckers 
are vigorously destroyed, and 
the bearing canes cut well back, 
the fruit is often very large, 
abundant and attractive, bring- 
ing the highest prices. As a 
plantation grows older, the 
tendency to sucker immoder- 
ately decreases, and the fruit 
improves. Its autumn bearing 
trait is shown by the engraving 
of a loaded tip, cut in October, 
and the late berries are seen 
to be very different in appear- 
ance from those that mature in 
July. 

The Belle de Pallua and 
Hornet are also French varieties, 
that in some sections yield fine 
fruit, but are too uncertain to 
become favorites in our country. 



/I 













1 82 Success with Small Fruits. 

I have a few canes of a French variety, that Mr. Downing imported a 
number of years since, and of which the name has been lost. It certainly 
is the finest raspberry I have ever seen, and I am testing its adaptation to 
various soils. 

Having named the best-known foreign varieties, I will now turn to R. 
Strigosus, or our native species, which is scattered almost everywhere 
throughout the North. In its favorite haunts by road-side hedge and open 
glade in the forest, a bush is occasionally found producing such fine fruit 
that the delighted discoverer marks it, and in the autumn transfers it to his 
garden. As a result, a new variety is often heralded throughout the land. 
A few of these wildings have become widely popular, and among them the 
Brandywine probably has had the most noted career. 

Mr. William Parry, of New Jersey, who has been largely interested in 
this variety, writes to me as follows : 

" I have never been able to trace the origin of this berry. It attracted attention 
some eight or ten years since in the Wilmington market, and was for a time called 
the ' Wilmington.' " 

Subsequently, Mr. Edward Tatnall, of that city, undertook to introduce 
it by the name of Susqueco, the Indian name for the Brandywine. It soon 
became the principal raspberry grown along the Brandywine Creek, and, 
as the market-men would persist in calling it after its chief haunt, it will 
probably bear the historical name until it passes wholly out of favor. Its 
popularity is already on the wane, because of its dry texture and insipid 
flavor, but its bright color, good size, and especially its firmness and remark- 
able carrying qualities, will ever lead to its ready sale in the market. It is 
not a tall, vigorous grower, except in very rich land. The young canes are 
usually small, slender, of a pale red color, and have but few spines. Like 
nearly all the R. Strigosus species, it tends to sucker immoderately. If 
this disposition is rigorously checked by hoe and cultivator it is productive; 
otherwise the bearing canes are choked and rendered comparatively 
unfruitful. This variety is waning before the Cuthbert — a larger and much 
better berry. 

The Turner is another of this class, and, in Mr. Charles Downing's 
opinion, is the best of them. It was introduced by Professor J. B. Turner, 
of Illinois, and is a great favorite in many parts of the West. It has behaved 
well on my place for several years, and I am steadily increasing my stock 
of it. I regard it as the hardiest raspberry in cultivation, and a winter 
must be severe, indeed, that injures it. Like the Crescent Seedling straw- 



Varieties of the Foreign and Native Species. 



183 




Native Raspberries of America. 
(Rub us Strigosus.) 

berry, it will grow anywhere, 
and under almost any condi- 
tions. The laziest man on the 
continent can have its fruit in 
abundance, if he can muster sufficient 
spirit to put out a few roots, and hoe 
out all the suckers except five or six in 
the hill. It is early, and in flavor sur- 
passes all of its class ; the fruit is only 



184 Success with Small Fruits. 

moderately firm. Plant a few in some out-of-the-way place, and it 
will give the largest return for the least amount of labor of any kind 
with which I am acquainted. The canes are very vigorous, of a 
golden reddish-brown, like mahogany, over which spreads in many 
places a purple bloom, like that on a grape, and which rubs off at the 
touch. It is almost free from spines, and so closely resembles the 
" Southern Thornless " in all respects that I cannot distinguish between 
them. 

The Turner is a fine example of the result of persistent well-doing. 
After having been treated slightingly and written down at the East for ten 
years or more, it is now steadily winning its way toward the front rank. 
Mr. A. S. Fuller, who has tried most of the older varieties, says that he 
keeps a patch of it for his own use, because it gives so much good fruit 
with so little trouble. 

I shall give its origin in Professor Turner's own words, as far as possible: 
"Soon after I came to Illinois, in 1833, I obtained, through a friend 
from the East, some raspberries sold to me as the 'Red Antwerp.' 
I do not know or believe that there was at that time any other red 
raspberry within one hundred miles of this place. Indeed, I have never 
seen a native wild red raspberry in the State, though it may be there 
are some. I found the Antwerp would not stand our climate, but by 
extreme care I protected it one winter, and it bore some fruit. I con- 
ceived the idea of amusing my leisure hours from college duty by 
raising new seedling raspberries, strawberries, etc., that would be 
adapted to the climate of the State. I had only a small garden spot, 
no particular knowledge of the business, and no interest in it outside 
of the public good. I read upon the subject, as far as I then could, 
and planted and nursed my seedlings. Out of hundreds or thousands 
sown, I got one good early strawberry, which had a local run for a time ; 
one fair blackberry, but no grapes or raspberries that seemed worth 
anything. The seeds of the raspberries were sown in a bed back of 
my house, and the shoots reserved were all nurtured on the same bed. 
After I supposed them to be a failure, I set out an arbor vitae hedge 
directly across the raspberry bed, making some effort to destroy the 
canes so that the little cedars might grow. Sometimes, when they were 
in the way of the cedars they were hoed out. If any of them bore 
berries, the fowls doubtless destroyed them, or the children ate them 
before they ripened, until the cedars got so high as to give them pro- 
tection. Then the children found the ripe fruit, and reported it to me. 
I have not the least doubt but this raspberry came from a seed of 



Varieties of the Foreign and Native Species. 185 

the plants obtained from the East as the Red Antwerp. The original 
canes may have been false to name, or a mixture of the true and 
false. Whatever they were, they bore good, red berries, which I 
supposed to be Antwerps, but the canes were so tender as to be worth- 
less. It is wholly impossible that the new variety should have come from 
any other seed than that sown by me where the vitae hedge now stands." 

This letter is very interesting in showing how curiously some of our 
best varieties originate. Moreover, it suggests a dilemma. How is it possi- 
ble that an Antwerp — one of the most tender varieties — could Have been 
the parent of the hardiest known raspberry ? How could a sort having 
every characteristic of our native R. Strigosus spring direct from R. Idcens ? 

I have been familiar with the Antwerps all my life, and can see no trace 
of them in this hardy berry. Mr. A. S. Fuller writes to me, "The Turner 
is a true native — R. Strigosns'' ; and Mr. Charles Downing holds the same 
opinion. Hence, I am led to believe that there was a native variety 
among the plants the professor obtained from the East, or that a seed of 
a native was dropped among the cedars by a bird, or brought thither in 
the roots of the cedars. Be this as it may. Professor Turner's good motives 
have been rewarded and he has given the public an excellent raspberry. 

In connection with this subject, Mr. Fuller added the following fact, 
which opens to the amateur a very interesting field for experiment : "If 
there is any doubt in regard to such matters, raise a few seedlings of the 
variety, and if it is a cross or hybrid, a part of the seedlings will revert 
back to each parent, or so near them that there will be no difficulty in 
determining that there was a mixture of blood. If all our so-called hybrid 
fruits were thus tested, we would then know more of their true parentage." 
In the sunny laboratory of the garden, therefore. Nature's chemistry will 
resolve these juicy compounds back into their original constituents. 

The Highland Hardy, or Native, also belongs to this species, and is quite 
a favorite still in some localities ; but it has had its day, I think. Its extreme 
earliness has made it profitable in some regions ; but its softness, small size 
and wretched flavor should banish it from cultivation as soon as possible. 

There are others, like the Thwack, Pearl, and Bristol ; they are but second- 
rate, being inferior in most regions to the Brandy wine, which they resemble. 

In my opinion, the chief value of R. Strigosus is to be found in two 
facts. In the first place, they endure the severe Northern winters, and — 
what is of far more consequence — their best representatives thrive on 
light soils, and their tough foliage does not burn under the hot sun. It 
thus becomes the one species of red raspberry that can be raised success- 
fully in the South, and from it, as a hardy stock, we should seek to develop 
the raspberries of the future. 
24 



CHAPTER XXII. 



RUBUS OCCIDENTALIS — BLACK-CAP AND PURPLE CANE RASPBERRIES. 



WE now turn to the other great American species — Rubus Occi- 
dentalis — the well-known black-cap, or thimble berry, that is found 
along almost every road- side and fence in the land. There are few 
little people who have not stained their lips and fingers, not to mention 
their clothes, with this homely favorite. I can recall the days when, to the 
horror of the laundress, I filled my pockets with the juicy caps. It is 
scarcely necessary to recall its long, rambling, purple shoots, its light-green 
foliage, silvery on the under side, its sharp and abundant spines, from which 
we have received many a vicious scratch. Its cultivation is so simple that 
it may be suggested in a few sentences. It does not produce suckers, like 
R. Strigosits, but the tips of the drooping branches (Fig. A) root them- 
selves in the soil during August and September, forming young plants. 
These, planted, produce a vigorous bush the first year that bears the second 
season, and then dies down to the perennial root, as is the case with all rasp- 
berries. Usually, the tips of the young canes will take root, if left to 
themselves, unless whipped about by the wind. If new plants in abundance 
are desired, it is best to assist nature, however, by placing a little earth on 
the tip just after it begins to enlarge slightly, thus showing it is ready to 
take root. This labor is quickly performed by throwing a handful or two 
of earth on the tips with a trowel. The tips do not all mature for propa- 
gation at one time ; therefore, it is well to go over the plantation every two 
weeks after the middle of August, and cover lightly with earth only such 



Rubus Occidentalis. 




as are enlarged. If cov- 
ered before this sign of 
readiness appears, the tip 
merely decays. If a va- 
riety is very scarce, we 
may cover not only the 
tips, but also much of the 
cane, lightly — an inch or 
two — with earth, and 
each bud will eventually 
make a plant. This 
should not be done, how- 
ever, until the wood is 
well ripened, say about 
the first of October. 
Throw a few leaves over 
such layered canes in 
November, and divide 
the buds and roots into 
separate plants early in 
spring. They will prob- 



Native Raspberries of America. (Rubus Occidentalis.) 

ably be so small as to need a year in the nursery row. Sometimes^ 
after the first tip is rooted, buds a little above it will push into shoots 



1 88 Success with Small Fruits. 

which also will root themselves with slight assistance, as in Fig. B, 
and thus the number of new plants is greatly increased. Spring is 
by far the best time, at the North, for planting these rooted tips ; but 
it should be done as early as possible, before the bud (C) has started into 
its brittle, succulent growth. At the South, November is probably the 
best season for planting. It is a species that adapts itself to most soils, 
even the lightest, and endures much neglect. At the same time, it 
responds generously to good culture and rigorous pruning, and, if 
moisture is abundant, the yield is simply enormous. It not only thrives 
far to the north, but can also be grown farther south than any other 
class of raspberries. 

In planting, spread out the roots and let them go down their full 
length, but do not put over an inch or two of soil on the bud from which 
the new canes are to spring. Press the earth firmly mvund this bud, but 
not on it. Let the rows be six feet apart, and the plants three feet from 
each other in the row ; at this distance, 2,400 will be required for an acre. 
Summer pinching back will transform these sprawling, drooping canes into 
compact, stocky bushes, or ornamental shrubs that in sheltered locations 
will be self-supporting. Clean culture, and, as the plantation grows 
older, higher stimulation, greatly enhance success. After the plants 
begin to show signs of age and feebleness, it is best to set out young 
plants on new ground. 

The varieties of this species are almost innumerable, since seedlings 
come up by the million every year ; but the differences between the 
majority of them are usually very slight. There are four kinds, however, 
that have won honorable distinction and just popularity. The earliest of 
these is Davidson's Thornless, said to have originated in the garden of 
Mrs. Mercy Davidson, Towanda, Erie Co., N. Y. It is nothing like so 
vigorous a grower as the other three varieties ; but the sweetness of the 
fruit and the freedom from thorns make it desirable for the home garden. 
Unless high culture or moist soil is given, I do not recommend it for 
market. 

Next in order of ripening is the Doolittle, or American Improved, 
found growing wild, about thirty-five years since, by Leander Joslyn, of 
Phelps, Ontario Co., N. Y., and introduced by Mr. H. H. Doolittle. This, 
hitherto, has been the most popular of all the species, and thousands of 
bushels are annually raised for market. The plant is exceedingly 
vigorous, producing strong, branching canes that literally cover them- 
selves with fruit. I have seen long rows fairly black with caps. Perhaps 
it should be stated that the thorns are vigorous, also. 



Black- Cap and Purple Cane Raspberries. 189 

Latest in ripening is the Mammoth Cluster, or McCormick, which, 
thus far, has been my favorite. It is even more vigorous than the 
preceding, but not so briery or branching. The fruit is produced usually 
in a thick cluster or bunch at the end of the branch, and they ripen more 
together than the other kinds. The caps, too, are much larger, more 
juicy and fine-flavored. One is less conscious of the seeds. Between 
the thumb and finger you can often gather a handful from a single spray, 
it is so prodigiously productive. Thus far, it has been unsurpassed, either 
for home use or market ; but now it is encountering a rival in the 

Gregg, a new variety, that is attracting much attention. Its history, 
as far as I have been able to learn it, is as follows : 

In the latter part of June, 1866, this black raspberry was found 
growing wild in a ravine on the Gregg farm, which is located in Ohio 
Co., Indiana. The original bush " was bending under the weight of 
colossal-sized clusters. It was then a single clump, surrounded by a few 
young plants growing from its tips. Before introducing it to the public, 
we gave it a most thorough and complete trial. We have put it on the 
tables of some of the most prominent horticultural societies, and by each 
it has been voted the highest rank in their fruit lists. At the Centennial 
Exposition, at Philadelphia, in competition with all the prominent varieties 
in the world, it was ranked highest by the judges. During eleven years 
of observation it has survived the coldest winters, and never failed to 
yield an abundant crop. It is a vigorous, rapid grower, producing strong, 
well-matured canes by fall. The fruit is beautiful in appearance, delicious, 
possessing excellent shipping and keeping qualities." 

The above is a mild and condensed statement of its claims, as set 
forth by Messrs. R. & P. Gregg, proprietors of the Gregg farm, and I 
believe these gentlemen have given a correct account of their experience. 
As the result of much inquiry, it would appear that this variety is also 
doing well throughout the country at large. 

Mr. N. Ohmer, who has been most prominent in introducing the 
Gregg, gives the following account of his first acquaintance with it : " At 
a meeting of the Indiana State Horticultural Society, held at IndianapoHs, 
a gentleman asked for the privilege of making some remarks about a new 
black raspberry that he was cultivating. Being pretty long-winded, as 
most lawyers are, he spoke so long, and said so much in favor of his 
berry, that no one believed him, and were glad when he got through. 
The summer following, I chanced to call on the Secretary of the Indiana 
State Board of Agriculture, in the Capitol building, and was surprised 
to see on his table about half a peck of berries and an armful of canes 



I go Success witJi Small Fruits. 

loaded with the largest, handsomest and best black raspberries I had ever 
seen. Mr. Herron, the Secretary, informed me that they were grown by 
Messrs. R. & P. Gregg. I obtained two hundred plants, a few of which 
bore fruit so fine, the following season, that all who saw it wanted plants." 
It was learned that Mr. Gregg was the lawyer who was thought " long- 
winded," and many who then yawned have since thought, no doubt, that 
they might have listened with much profit, for the demand for the plants 
has become greater than the supply. Only time can show whether the 
Gregg is to supersede the Mammoth Cluster. I observe that veteran 
fruit growers are very conservative, and by no means hasty to give a 
new-comer the place that a fine old variety has won by years of excel- 
lence in nearly all diversities of soil and climate. The Gregg certainly 
promises remarkably well, and Mr. Thomas Meehan, editor of the 
Gardener s Monthly, who is well known to be exceedingly careful and 
conscientious in indorsing new fruits, writes: "We believe this variety 
is generally larger than any other of its kind yet known." 

There are many other candidates for favor, but thus far they are 
untried, or have not proved themselves equal to the kinds I have named. 

Quite a distinct branch of R. Occidentalis is the Purple Cane family, — 
so named, I think, from the purple cane raspberry that was so well 
known in old gardens a few years ago, but since it has been superseded 
by better kinds is now fast passing out of cultivation. It almost took 
care of itself in our home garden for forty years or more, and its soft, 
small berries would melt in one's mouth. Its canes were smooth and its 
fruit of a dusky-red color. In other respects, it resembles the black-cap 
tribe. 

The Catawissa, found growing in a Pennsylvania grave-yard, is 
another berry of this class, which produces a second crop in autumn. 
It is tender in the Northern States, and has never become popular. 

The Philadelphia is the best known of the class, and at one time was 
immensely popular. Its canes are smooth, stout, erect in growth, and 
enormously productive of medium-sized, round, dusky-red berries of 
very poor flavor. It throve so well on the light soils about Philadel- 
phia, that it was heralded to the skies, and the plants sold at one time 
as high as $40 per 100, but the inferior flavor and unattractive appear- 
ance of the fruit caused it to decline steadily in favor, and now it has 
but few friends. Unlike others of its class, it does not root from the tips, 
but propagates itself by suckers, producing them sparingly, however. 
When it was in such great demand, the nurserymen increased it by 
root cuttings, forced under glass. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE RASPBERRIES OF THE FUTURE. 



WE now come to a class that are destined, I think, to be the 
raspberries of the future, or, at least, a type of them. I refer to 
seedlings of the three original species that have been described. As a rule 
(having exceptions of course), these native seedling varieties are compara- 
tively hardy, and adapted to the climate of America. This adaptation 
applies to the South, in the proportion that they possess the qualities of 
the Rubus Strigosiis or Occidentalis. To the degree that the foreign ele- 
ment of R. IdceiLS exists, they will, with a few exceptions, require winter 
protection, and will be unable to thrive in light soils and under hot suns. 
Forgetfulness of this principle is often the cause of much misapprehension 
and undiscriminating censure. I have known certain New Jersey fruit 
growers to condemn a variety unsparingly. Would it not be more 
sensible to say it belongs to the R. Idceits class, and, therefore, is not adapted 
to our climate and light soil, but in higher latitudes and on heavy land 
it may prove one of the best ? 

It should here be premised that these seedlings originated in this 
country. Perhaps they are the product solely of our native species, or 
they may result from crossing varieties of R. Id(2iis, in which case they will 
exhibit the characteristics of the foreign species ; or, finally, from the 
foreign and our native species may be produced a hybrid that will combine 
traits of each line of its lineage. A conspicuous example of the second 
statement may be seen in Brinkle's Orange, originated by Dr. Brinkle 



192 Success with Small Frit-its. 

many years ago. It is essentially an Antwerp in character, and yet it is 
more vigorous, and adapted to a wider range of country than the Antwerp. 
The berry is of a beautiful buff color, and its delicious flavor is the accepted 
standard of excellence. At the same time, it is well known that it will not 
thrive under hot suns or upon light land. It can be raised south of New 
York only in cool, moist soils, and in half-shady locations ; but at the 
north, where the conditions of growth are favorable, it produces strong 
branching canes, covered with white spines, and is exceedingly productive 
of large, light-colored berries that melt on the tongue. There is the same 
difference between it and the Brandywine that exists between Stowell's 
Evergreen and flint field corn. It invariably requires winter protection. 

The Pride of the Hudson possesses the same general character as the 
Orange, and approaches it very nearly in excellence. It certainly is the 
largest, most beautiful red raspberry now before the public ; but in its later 
development it has shown such sensitiveness to both heat and cold that I 
cannot recommend it for general cultivation. Give it a moist soil and 
a half-shady location, such as may be found on the northern side of a fence 
or hedge, and it will become the pride of any northern garden ; but in the 
South, and on light soils, it can scarcely live. It should have winter 
protection. 

In contrast with these native berries of foreign parentage, we have the 
Herstine; Mr. B. K. Bliss, the well-known seedsman of New York city, 
kindly furnishes me the following facts of its history : " About ten years 
since I was invited, with several gentlemen (mostly horticulturists), to visit 
the late Mr. Herstine, at Philadelphia. We were to examine a lot of 
seedling raspberries, and select names for those that we thought worthy of 
general cultivation. We found quite a company there from the vicinity of 
Philadelphia and from Washington, while New York was represented by 
such eminent authorities as Dr. Thurber and A. S. Fuller. The raspberry 
bushes were completely loaded with large, fine fruit, — the finest I ever 
saw. Each variety was carefully examined, and the guests voted as to 
which, in his opinion, was the best. The Herstine stood first, and the 
Saunders second. Mr. Herstine explained that they were raised from the 
Allen raspberry, which had been planted in alternate rows with the 
Philadelphia." This parentage would make it a hybrid of the R. Strigosus 
and the purple cane branch of the R. Occidentalis species ; but the plant 
and fruit indicate the presence, also, of the R. Id<ziis element. After 
several years' experience on my own place, I regard it as the best early 
raspberry in existence. The berry is large, obtusely conical, bright red, 
and delicious in flavor. It is scarcely firm enough for market where it 



The Raspberries of the Future. 



193 



must be sent any great distance, but if picked promptly after it reddens, 
and packed in a cool, airy place, like that under my northern piazza, 
suggested in the engraving, it carries well and brings good prices. The 

^,==--p-— -_ , canes are 



strong, red, 
stocky and 
•'^j^^{ covered with 
spines. They 
are but half-hardy, and 
I thmk it is best to 
cover them before the 
first of December, in our 
latitude The canes of the 
Saunders, also sent out by 
Mr. Herstine, are much 




The Herstine Raspberry. A Cool Packing-Place. 

darker in color, and not so vigorous, but sufficiently so. The berries are 
large, ripen later, are more globular, and are of the same excellent quality. 
It deserves greater popularity than it has received. It is, also, only half-^ 
hardy. 
25 



194 Success with Svmll Fruits. 

In the Clarke, we undoubtedly have a variety containing considerable 
of the R. IdcEiis element. The berries are often very large, bright crimson, 
conical, with large, hairy grains. Occasionally, the fruit on my vines was 
very imperfect, and crumbled badly in picking. I found that by cutting 
the canes rigorously back — even one-half — I obtained much larger and 
more perfect berries, and in increased quantities. The canes are very 
strong, upright growers, ending usually in a thick tuft of foliage, rather 
than in long, drooping tips. It was originated by Mr. E. E. Clarke, of 
New Haven, Conn., and is but half-hardy. 

In the New Rochelle, we have a hybrid of the black-cap and 
red raspberry, the R. Occidcfttalis element predominating, and mani- 
festing itself in the stocky and branching character of the canes, and in the 
fact that they propagate themselves by tips, and not suckers. The New 
Rochelle, originated by Mr. E. W. Carpenter, of Rye, N. Y., is perhaps the 
best of this class. It is very vigorous, hardy and enormously productive, 
and the fruit is of good size. I do not like its sharp acid, how- 
ever, and its dun or dusky-brown color will probably prevent it from 
becoming a favorite in market, since bright-hued berries are justly 
much preferred. 

But Mr. Carpenter has sent out another seedling which, I think, is 
destined to have a brilliant future — the Caroline. It is thought to be a 
cross between the Catawissa and Brinkle's Orange. The canes are per- 
fectly hardy, very strong, vigorous, branching, light-red, with a lighter 
bloom upon them here and there. It suckers freely, and also propagates 
itself sparingly from the tips. The fruit is exceedingly abundant and is 
a round cap of a beautiful buff color, almost equaling Brinkle's Orange in 
flavor. I think it will grow anywhere, and thus will find a place in 
innumerable gardens where the Orange does not thrive. At the same 
time, it is good enough for any garden. 

The Ganargua was said to be a hybrid, but Mr. J. J. Thomas writes to 
me : " I have never been able to discover proof that it is one. I think it 
all R. Occidcntalis — a variety." 

The Reliance, a seedling of the Philadelphia, but far superior to it, 
is doing remarkably well on my place, and I hear favorable accounts 
from other localities. 

There are many others that are either old and passing into obscurity 
or else so new and dubious in character that limited space forbids their 
mention. We will close this sketch of varieties with the Cuthbert, 
which that experienced and careful horticulturist. Dr. Hexamer, calls the 
"best raspberry now in existence." 



The Raspberries of the Future. 195 

This is a chance seedling, which the late Thomas Cuthbert found in 
his garden, at Riverdale, N. Y. His son has kindly furnished the fol- 
lowing facts: "The raspberry in question was discovered by my father 
about eleven years ago in the garden of our country seat at Riverdale- 
on-the- Hudson. It is probably a seedling of the Hudson River Antwerp, 
as it was found growing near the edge of a patch of that variety, but 
its great vigor of growth and the size and quality of the fruit marked 
it at once as a new and distinct kind. Its canes were carefully separated 
from the others and a small plantation made of them. The next year, 
and from time to time since, plants were given to our friends in various 
parts of the State for trial. Without exception, their reports have been 
favorable, particular mention having been made of their unusual vigor 
of growth, their hardiness, and the firmness and good keeping qualities 
of the fruit. The first year or so we gave the canes winter protection, 
but finding that it was unnecessary, we have discontinued it, and I have 
never heard of the canes being winter-killed." 

From other sources I learn that Mr. Cuthbert made an arrange- 
ment with a nurseryman by the name of Thompson, to propagate and 
send out the variety. This gentleman dying soon after, the stock came 
into the possession of Mr. H. J. Corson, of Staten Island, N. Y., and 
by him and Mr. I. J. Simonson, a florist, the plants have been sent out 
to different parts of the country. This dissemination was very limited, 
and was characterized by an almost utter absence of heralding and 
extravagant praise. The berry has literally made its way on its own 
merits. Dr. Hexamer remarked to me that he had had it for years, and 
had wondered why its merits were so overlooked. My attention was called 
to it in the summer of 1878, and I took pains to see it in several 
localities. The large size of the berries, their firmness and fine flavor, con- 
vinced me that it was very valuable, and the fact that I found it flourish- 
ing luxuriantly on New Jersey sand, and maintaining a perfectly healthful 
foliage under an August sun, led me to believe that we had at last found 
a first-class variety that would thrive on light soils and under hot suns. 

The late W. C. Bryant, the poet, himself well versed in horticulture, 
closed a letter to me with the following words: 

" It has ahvays seemed to me a scandal to our horticulture that in a region 
where the raspberry grows wild, we should not have a sort that would resist both the 
winter cold and summer heat, and produce abundantly." 

After another year of observation and of much correspondence, extend- 
ing even to California, I am convinced that the Cuthbert does " resist both 



196 Success with Small Fruits. 

the winter cold and summer heat, and produce abundantly," far better than 
any other raspberry that equals it in size and flavor. The artist has given 
us an accurate portrait of the fruit, which, although so large, has the pecul- 
iar indentation of the grains and other characteristics of the R. Strigosus, 
showing that its constitution is derived mainly from our sturdy native 
species. The canes are strong, upright, branching, if space permits, 
reddish-brown, spines abundant, but not very long and harsh. It is a 
rampant grower on good soil, but the foliage, so far from being rank and 
large, is delicate, and the under side of the leaves has a light, silvery hue. 
After once getting hold of the soil, it suckers immoderately, but is no worse 
in this respect than other vigorous varieties ; and this tendency rapidly 
declines after the second year. Is it perfectly hardy ? No ; and I do not 
know of a single good raspberry that is; except, perhaps, the Turner, 
which, however, is inferior to the Cuthbert. I have seen the latter badly 
winter-killed, but it had stood eight years on the same ground without 
injury before. Then, because of a rank growth late in the season, that 
especial patch was hit hard, while other fields, but a few miles away, were 
unharmed. If planted on well-drained soil, where the wood could ripen 
well, I think it would be injured very rarely, if ever ; but I have no faith in 
talk about "perfectly hardy raspberries." Those who observe closely will 
often find our hardy native species killed to the ground, and I think many 
varieties suffer more from the mild, variable winters of the Middle States 
than from the steady cold and snowy winters of the North. Moreover, any 
variety that has not the power of maintaining a healthy foliage through the 
hot season will usually be too feeble to resist the winter following. The 
question of hardiness can often be settled better in August than in January. 
One of the most hopeful features of the Cuthbert, therefore, is its tough, 
sun-enduring foliage, which enables the wood to ripen perfectly. It has 
never received winter protection thus far, either in this region or in Michi- 
gan, where it is largely raised, but it may be found necessary to shield it 
somewhat in some localities. It is both absurd and dishonest to claim per- 
fection for a fruit, and the Cuthbert, especially as it grows older and loses 
something of its pristine vigor, will, probably, like all other varieties, 
develop faults and weaknesses. We cannot too much deprecate the arro- 
gant spirit often manifested in introducing new fruits. Interested parties 
insist on boundless praise, and, if their advice were followed, the fine old 
standards would be plowed out to make room for a new-comer that often 
proves, on trial, little better than a weed. The Cuthbert is not exactly a 
novelty. Through the gifts of the originator, and sales running through 
several years, it has become widely scattered, and has proved a success in 



The Raspberries of the Future. 



197 




Cuthbert Raspberry. 



Nooning under the Trees. 



198 Success with Small Fruits. 

every instance, as far as I can learn. I show my faith in it by my works, 
for I am setting it out more largely than all other kinds together, even 
going so far as to rent land for the purpose. I am satisfied, from frequent 
inquiries in Washington Market, that it will take the lead of all others, and 
it is so firm that it can be shipped by rail, like a Wilson strawberry. 

In Delaware and Southern New Jersey, a variety named " Queen of 
the Market " is being largely set out. I have this variety in my specimen- 
bed, side by side with plants that came from Thomas Cuthbert's garden, 
and am almost satisfied that they are identical, and that Queen of the 
Market is but a synonym of the Cuthbert. I have placed the canes and 
spines of each under a powerful microscope and can detect no differences, 
and the fruit also appeared so much alike that I could not see wherein it 
varied. Plants of this variety were sent to Delaware some years since, 
as they were to Michigan and California, and, wherever tested, they seem 
to win strong and immediate favor. Its chief fault in this locaHty is its 
lateness. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



BLACKBERRIES — VARIETIES, CULTIVATION, ETC. 



THE small-fruit branch of the rose family is assuredly entitled to 
respect when it is remembered that the blackberry is the blackest 
sheep in it. Unlike the raspberry, the drupes cling to the receptacle, 
which falls off with them when mature, and forms the hard, disagreeable 
core when the berry is black, but often only half ripe. The bush is, in truth, 
what the ancients called it, — a bramble, and one of our Highland wild- 
cats could scarcely scratch more viciously than it, if treated too familiarly ; 
but, with judicious respect and good management, it will yield berries as 
large and beautiful as those on the Kittatinny spray portrayed, the original 
of which ripened in my garden last summer. 

It would seem that Nature had given her mind more to blackberries 
than to strawberries, for, instead of merely five, she has scattered about 
150 species up and down the globe. To describe all these would be a 
thorny experience indeed, robbing the reader of his patience as com- 
pletely as he would be bereft of his clothing, should he literally attempt 
to go through them all. Therefore, I shall give Professor Gray's descrip- 
tion of the two species which have furnished our few really good varieties, 
and dismiss with mere mention a few other species. 

" Rubus Villosus, High Blackberry. Everywhere along thickets, fence-rows, 
etc., and several varieties cultivated; stems one to six feet high, furrowed; prickles 
strong and hooked; leaflets three to five, ovate or lance-ovate, pointed, their lower 



200 Success with Small Fruits. 

surface and stalks hairy and glandular, the middle one long-stalked and sometimes 
heart-shaped ; flowers racemed, rather large, with short bracts ; fruit oblong or 
cylindrical. 

"j!?. Canadensis, Low Blackberry or Dewberry. Rocky and sandy soil; long 
trailing, slightly prickly, smooth or smoothish, and with three to seven smaller 
leaflets than in the foregoing, the racemes of flowers with more leaf-like bracts, the 
fruit of fewer grains and ripening earlier." 

The R. Cuneifoliiis, or Sand Blackberry, is common in the sandy 
ground and barrens from New Jersey southward ; the R. Trivialis, Southern 
Low Blackberry, is found in light soils from Virginia southward ; the R. 
Hispidus is a Running Swamp Blackberry whose long, slender stems 
creep through low, damp woods and marshes ; the R. Spectabilis 
produces purple solitary flowers, and grows on the banks of the 
Columbia River in the far North-West. Whatever improvements may 
originate from these species in the future, they have not as yet, to my 
knowledge, given us any fine cultivated variety. 

R. Fruticosus is the best-known European species, but neither has it, 
as far as I can discover, been the source of any varieties worthy of favor. 
It is said to have a peculiar flavor, that produces satiety at once. The 
blackberry, therefore, is exceptional, in that we have no fine foreign 
varieties, and Mr. Fuller writes that he cannot find " any practical informa- 
tion in regard to their culture in any European work on gardening." 

The " bramble " is quite fully treated in Mr. R. Thompson's valuable 
English work, but I find little to interest the American reader. He 
suggests that the several native species that he describes are capable of 
great improvement, but I cannot learn that such effort has ever been made 
successfully. I do not know of any reason why our fine varieties will not 
thrive abroad, under conditions that accord with their nature. 

In America there are innumerable varieties, since Nature produces wild 
seedlings on every hill-side, and not a few seeds have been planted by horti- 
culturists, in the hope of originating a prize berry. Nature appears to 
have had the better fortune, thus far, for our best varieties are chance 
seedlings, found growing wild. 

It is not so many years since the blackberry was regarded as merely a 
bramble in this country, as it now is abroad, and people were content with 
such fruit as the woods and fields furnished. Even still, in some localities, 
this supply is so abundant as to make the culture of the blackberry 
unprofitable. But, a number of years since, Mr. Lewis A. Seacor led to 
better things, by observing on the road-side, in the town of New Rochelle, 
Westchester county. New York, a bush flourishing where Nature had 



Blackberi'ics — Varieties, Cultivation, Etc. 



201 



planted it. This variety took kindly to civilization, and has done more to 
introduce this fruit to the garden than all other kinds together. Mr. Donald 
G. Mitchell, in his breezy out-of-door book, "My Farm at Edgewood," 
gives its characteristics so admirably that I am tempted to quote him : 




Gathering Wild Blackberries. 

" The New Rochelle or Lawton Blackberry has been despitefully spoken of by 
many ; first, because the market fruit is generally bad, being plucked before it is 
fully ripened ; and next, because, in rich, clayey grounds, the briars, unless severely 
cut back, grow into a tangled, unapproachable forest, with all the juices exhausted 
in wood. But upon a soil moderately rich, a little gravelly and warm, protected from 
winds, served with occasional top-dressings and good hoeings, the Lawton bears 
magnificent burdens. Even then, if you wish to enjoy the richness of the fruit, you 
must not be hasty to pluck it. When the children say, with a shout, ' The black- 
berries are ripe ! ' I know they are black only, and I can wait. When the children 
report, ' The birds are eating the berries ! ' I know I can wait. But when they say, 
' The bees are on the berries ! ' I know they are at their ripest. Then, with baskets, 
we sally out ; I taking the middle rank, and the children the outer spray of boughs. 
Even now we gather those only which drop at the touch ; these, in a brimming 
saucer, with golden Alderney cream and a soupcon of powdered sugar, are Olympian 
nectar ; they melt before the tongue can measure their full roundness, and seem to 
be mere bloated bubbles of forest honev." 



Notwithstanding this eloquent plea and truthful statement, the Lawton 
is decidedly on the wane. It is so liable to be winter-killed, even with best 
of care, and its fruit is so unpalatable, in its half-ripe condition, that it has 
26 



202 



Success with Small Fruits. 



given place to a more successful rival — the Kittatinny — discovered in 
Warren county, N. J., growing in a forest, near the mountains, whose 
Indian name has become a household word from association with this 
most delicious fruit. Mr. Wolverton, in finding it, has done more for 
the world than if he had opened a gold mine. Under good culture, the 




Kittatinny Blackberry. 



fruit is very large, as shown in the 
engraving ; sweet, rich and melting, 
when fully ripe, but rather sour 
and hard when immature. It 
reaches its best condition if allowed 
to ripen fully on the vines; but the 
majority of pickers use their hands 
only, and no more think of making 



nice discriminations than of questioning nature according to the Baconian 
method. They gather all that are black, or nearly so ; but if this half- ripe 
fruit is allowed to stand in some cool, dry place for about twelve hours, 
Kittatinny berries may be had possessing nearly all their luscious qualities. 
The plant is an upright and very vigorous grower, exceedingly productive 
if soil and culture are suitable. Its leaves are long-pointed, " finely and 



Blackberries — Varieties, Cultivation, Etc. 203 

unevenly serrate." The season of fruiting is medium, continuing from four 
to six weeks, if moisture is maintained. Both of these varieties are derived 
from the Rubus Villosus species. 

In contrast, is the next best-known sort — Wilson's Early — having many 
of the characteristics of the Dewberry, or running blackberry, and, there- 
fore, representing the second species described R. Canadensis. Whether 
it is merely a sport from this species, or a hybrid between it and the first- 
named or high blackberry, cannot be accurately known, I imagine ; for, it 
also was found growing wild by Mr. John Wilson, of Burlington, N. J. 
Under high culture, and with increasing age, the plants become quite erect 
and stocky growers, but the ends of the cane are drooping. Frequently, 
they trail along the ground, and root at the tips, like the common 
Dewberry, and they rarely grow so stocky but that they can be bent 
over covered with earth or litter, as is the case with the tender raspberries. 
It is well that this is possible, for it has so little power of resisting frost that a 
winter of ordinary severity kills the canes in the latitude of New York. I 
have always covered mine, and thus secured, at slight expense, a sure and 
abundant crop. The fruit is earlier than the Kittatinny, and tends to ripen 
altogether in about ten days. These advantages, with its large size and 
firmness, make it a valuable market berry in New Jersey, where hundreds 
of acres of it have been planted, and where it is still very popular. 
Throughout the North and West, it has been found too tender for cultiva- 
tion, unless protected. In flavor, it is inferior to the Kittatinny or Snyder. 

For many years, the great desideratum has been a perfectly hardy 
blackberry, and this want has at last been met in part by the Snyder, a 
Western variety that seems able to endure without the slightest injury 
the extremes of temperature common in the North-western States. From 
Nebraska eastward I have followed its history, and have never heard of its 
being injured by frost. It originated on, or in the vicinity of, Mr. Snyder's 
farm, near La Porte, Ind., about 185 1, and is an upright, exceedingly 
vigorous and stocky grower, a true child of the R. Villosus. The 
engraving well suggests its wonderful productiveness, and the single berry 
given outlines the average size of the fruit under good culture. Its one 
fault is thus seen at a glance — it is not quite large enough to compete with 
those already described. On moist land, with judicious pruning, it could 
be made to approach them very nearly, however, while its earliness, 
hardiness, fine flavor and ability to grow and yield abundantly almost 
anywhere, will lead to an increasing popularity. For home use, size is 
not so important as flavor and certainty of a crop. It is also more 
nearly ripe when first black than any other kind that I have seen ; its 



204 



Sziccess zuiih Small Fruits. 




thorns are straight, 
and therefore less 
vicious I find that 
it is grow ing steadily 
in favor; and where 
the Kittatinny is 
winter-killed, this 
hardy, new variety 
leaves little cause 
for repining. 

There are several 

kinds that are passing out of cultivation, and not a few new candidates 
for favor, but the claims of superiority are as yet too doubtful to be 
recognized. Mr. James Wilson, of West Point, N. Y., found some mag- 
nificent wild berries growing on Crow Nest Mountain. The bush 
that bore them is now in my garden, and if it should produce fruit 
having a flavor equal to Rodman Drake's poem, Mr. Wilson has, then, 



Snyder Blackberry. 



Blackberries — Varieties, Ciilti-oation, Etc. 205 

found something more real than a "Culprit Fay." Occasionally, a 
thornless blackberry is heralded, and not a few have reason to recall 
the " Hoosac," which was generally found, I think, about as free from 
fruit as thorns. We have, also, the horticultural paradox of white black- 
berries, in the " Crystal," introduced by Mr. John B. Orange, of Albion, 
Illinois, and some others. They have little value, save as curiosities. 



PROPAGATION, CULTURE, ETC. . 

In'^most instances, I think more difficulty would be found in making a 
blackberry die than live. A plant set out in fall or early spring will 
thrive if given the ghost of a chance. Late spring plantings, however, 
often fail if subjected to heat and drought while in the green, succulent 
condition of early growth. Like the raspberry, the blackberry should be 
set, if possible, while in a dormant condition. If planted late, shade 
should be given and moisture maintained until danger of wilting and 
shriveling is past. I advise decidedly against late spring plantings on a 
large scale, but in early spring planting I have rarely lost a plant. 
Almost all that has been said concerning the planting and propagation of 
raspberries applies to this fruit. Set the plants two or three inches deeper 
than they were before. With the exception of the early Wilson, all 
speedily propagate themselves by suckers, and this variety can be increased 
readily by root cuttings. Indeed, better plants are usually obtained from 
all varieties by sowing slips of the root, as has already been explained in 
the paper on raspberries. 

The treatment of the blackberry can best be indicated by merely 
noting wherein its requirements differ from the last-named and kindred 
fruit. For instance, it does best on light soils and in sunny exposures. 
The partial shade, and moist, heavy land in which the raspberry luxuriates, 
would produce a rank growth of canes that winter would generally find 
unripened, and unable to endure the frost. Warm, well-drained, but not 
dry land', therefore, is the best. On hard, dry ground, the fruit often 
never matures, but becomes mere collections of seeds. Therefore the 
need in the preparation of the soil of deep plowing, and the thorough 
loosening, if possible, of the subsoil with the lifting plow. Any one who 
has traced blackberry roots in light soils will seek to give them foraging- 
room. Neither does this fruit require the fertility needed in most instances 
by the raspberry. It inclines to grow too rankly at best, and demands 
mellowness rather than richness of soil. 



2o6 Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

More room should also be given to the blackberry than to the rasp- 
berry. The rows should be six feet apart in the garden and eight feet in 
field culture, and the plants set three feet apart in the rows. At this 
distance, 1,815 'ii"^ required for an acre, if one plant only is placed in a 
hill. Since these plants are usually cheap, if one is small or unprovided 
with good roots, it is well to plant two. If the ground is not very fertile, 
it is well to give the young plants a good start by scattering a liberal 
quantity of muck compost down the furrow in which they are planted. 
This insures the most vigorous growth of young canes in the rows rather 
than in the intervening spaces. As generally grown, they require support, 
and may be staked as raspberries. Very often, cheap post-and-wire 
trellises are employed, and answer excellently. Under this system, 
they can be grown in a continuous and bushy row, with care against 
overcrowding. 

The ideal treatment of the blackberry is management rather than 
culture. More can be done with the thumb and finger at the right time 
than with the most savage pruning-shears after a year of neglect. In 
May and June, the perennial roots send up vigorous shoots that grow 
with amazing rapidity, until from five to ten feet high. Very often, this 
summer growth is so brittle and heavy with foliage, that thunder-gusts 
break them off" from the parent stem just beneath the ground, and the 
bearing cane of the coming year is lost. These and the following con- 
siderations show the need of summer pruning. Tall, overgrown canes are 
much more liable to be injured by frost. They need high and expensive 
supports. Such branchless canes are by no means so productive as those 
which are made to throw out low and lateral shoots. They can always 
be made to do this by a timely pinch that takes off the terminal bud of 
the cane. This stops its upward growth, and the buds beneath it, which 
otherwise might remain dormant, are immediately forced to become side 
branches near the ground, where the snow may cover them, and over 
which, in the garden, straw or other light litter may be thrown, on the 
approach of winter. It thus is seen that by early summer pinching the 
blackberry may be compelled to become as low and bushy a shrub as we 
desire, and is made stocky and self-supporting at the same time. Usually, 
it is not well to let the bushes grow over four feet high, and, in regions 
where they winter-kill badly, I would keep them under three feet, so that 
the snow might be a protection. It should be remembered that the 
Kittatinny is so nearly hardy that in almost all instances a very slight 
covering saves it. The suckers that come up thickly between the rows 
can be cut away while small with the least possible trouble ; but leave the 



Propagation, Culture, Etc, 207 

patch or field to its o\»n wild impulses for a year or so, and you may find 
a "slip of wilderness " in the midst of your garden that will require not a 
little strength and patience to subdue. By far the best weapon for such 
a battle, and the best implement also for cutting out the old wood, is the 
powerful and long-handled shears suggested in the engraving of the early 
Wilson variety. 



208 



Success witJi Small Fi'icits. 




CHAPTER XXV. 



CURRANTS^CHOICE OF SOIL, CULTIVATION, PRUNING, ETC. 



THEY were " curns " in our early boyhood, and " curns " they are 
still in the rural vernacular of many regions. In old English they 
were " corrans," because the people associated them with the raisins of the 
small Zante grape, once imported so exclusively from Corinth as to acquire 
the name of that city. 

Under the tribe Grossularicz of the Saxifrage family we find the Ribes, 
containing many species of currants and gooseberries ; but, in accordance 
with the scope of this book, we shall quote from Professor Gray (m'Iiosc 
arrangement we follow) only those that furnish the currants of cultivation. 

" Ribes Rjibrum, red currant, cultivated from Europe, also wild on our 
northern border, with straggling or reclining stems, somewhat heart- 
shaped, moderately three to five lobed leaves, the lobes roundish and 
drooping racemes from lateral buds distinct from the leaf buds ; edible 
berries red, or a white variety." 

This is the parent of our cultivated red and white varieties. Currants 
are comparatively new-comers in the garden. When the Greek and 
Roman writers were carefully noting and naming the fruits of their time, 
the Ribes tribe was as wild as any of the hordes of the far north, in whose 
dim, cold, damp woods and bogs it then flourished ; but, like other northern 
tribes, it is making great improvement under the genial influences of civili- 
zation and culture. 

Until within a century or two, gardeners who cultivated currants at all 
were content with wild specimens from the woods. The exceedingly small, 
2/ 209 



2IO Success with Small Fruits. 

acid fruit of these wildings was not calculated to inspire enthusiasm ; but a 
people possessing the surer qualities of patience and perseverance deter- 
mined to develop them, and, as a result, we have the old Red and White 
Dutch varieties, as yet unsurpassed for the table. In the Victoria, Cherry, 
and White Grape, we have decided advances in size, but not in flavor. 



CHOICE AND PREPARATION OF SOIL. 

The secret of success in the culture of currants is suggested, by the fact 
that nature has planted nearly every species of the Ribes in cold, damp, 
northern exposures. Throughout the woods and bogs of the Northern 
Hemisphere is found the scraggy, untamed, hardy stock from which has 
been developed the superb White Grape, whose translucent beauty is 
scarcely reproduced even by the fine engraving. As with people, so with 
plants; development does not eradicate constitutional traits and tendencies. 
Beneath all is the craving for the primeval conditions of life, and the best 
success with the currant and gooseberry will assuredly be obtained by those 
who can give them a reasonable approach to the soil, climate, and culture 
suggested by their damp, cold, native haunts. As with the strawberry, 
then, the first requisite is, not wetness, but abundant and continuous moist- 
ure. Soils naturally deficient in this, and which cannot be made drought- 
resisting by deep plowing and cultivation, are not adapted to the currant. 
Because this fruit is found wild in bogs, it does not follow that it can be 
grown successfully in undrained swamps. It will do better in such places 
than on dry, gravelly knolls, or on thin, light soils ; but our fine, civilized 
varieties need civilized conditions. The well-drained swamp may become 
the very best of currant fields ; and damp, heavy land, that is capable of 
deep, thorough cultivation, should be selected if possible. When such is 
not to be had, then, by deep plowing, subsoiling, by abundant mulch around 
the plants throughout the summer, and by occasional waterings in the gar- 
den, counteracting the effects of lightness and dryness of soil, skill can go 
far in making good nature's deficiencies. 

Next to depth of soil and moisture, the currant requires fertility. It is 
justly called one of the " gross feeders," and is not particular as to the 
quality of its food, so that it is abundant. I would still suggest, however, 
that it be fed according to its nature with heavy composts, in which muck, 
leaf-mold, and the cleanings of the cow-stable are largely present. Wood 
ashes and bone meal are also most excellent. If stable or other light 
manures must be used, I would suggest that they be scattered liberally on 



Choice ajid Preparation of Soil. 211 

the surface in the fall or early spring, and gradually worked in by cultiva- 
tion. Thus used, their light heating qualities will do no harm, and they 
will keep the surface mellow and, therefore, moist. 

The shadowy. Northern haunts of the wild currant also suggest 
that it will falter and fail under the Southern sun ; and this is true. 
As we pass down through the Middle States, we find it difficult to make 
thrive even the hardy White and Red Dutch varieties, and a point is at 
last reached when the bushes lose their leaves in the hot season, and die. 
From the latitude of New York south, therefore, increasing effort should be 
made to supply the currants' constitutional need, by giving partial shade 
among pear or widely set apple trees, or, better still, by planting on the 
northern side of fences, buildings, etc. By giving a cool, half-shady 
exposure in moist land, the culture of the currant can be extended far to 
the south, especially in the high mountain regions. Even well to the 
north it is unprofitable when grown on light, thin, poor land, unless 
given liberal, skillful culture. 



PLANTING, CULTIVATION AND PRUNING. 

I regard autumn as the best season for planting currants, but have 
succeeded nearly as well in early spring. If kept moist, there is little 
danger of the plants dying at any time, but those set in the fall or early 
spring make, the first year, a much larger growth than those planted when 
the buds have developed into leaves. Since they start so early, they should 
be set in the spring as soon as the ground is dry enough to work, and in the 
autumn, any time after the leaves fall or the wood is ripe. The plants of 
commerce are one, two and three years old, though not very many of the 
last are sold. I would as soon have one-year plants, if well rooted, as any, 
since they are cheaper and more certain to make strong, vigorous bushes, 
if given generous treatment in the open field, than if left crowded too long 
in nursery rows. For the garden, where fruit is desired as soon as possible, 
two and three year old plants are preferable. After planting, cut the 
young bushes back one-half or two-thirds, so as to insure new and vigorous 
growth. 

In field culture, I recommend that the rows be five feet apart, and the 
plants four feet from each other, in the row. In this case, 2,178 plants are 
required for an acre. If it is designed to cultivate them both ways, let the 
plants be set at right angles five feet apart, an acre now requiring 1,742 
plants. Sink them two or three inches deeper than they stood in the 



212 



Success ivith Small Fruits. 



nursery rows, and although in preparation the ground was well enriched, 
a shovel of compost around the young plant gives it a fine send-ofF, and 
hastens the development of a profitable bush. In the field and for market, 



Xiti^i^iil t 





In the Currant Field. 



I would urge that currants be grown invariably in bush, rather than in tree 
form. English writers, and some here who follow them, recommend the 
latter method ; but it is not adapted to our climate, and to such limited 
attention as we can afford to give. The borers, moreover, having but a 
single stem to work upon, would soon cause many vacancies in the rows. 

Currants are grown for market with large and increasing profits — 
indeed, there is scarcely a fruit that now pays better. The graphic pencil 
of Miss Curtiss has well suggested the July scenes on Mr. Cornell's place, 
near Newburgh, — one of the largest currant farms in the country. 



Planting, Cnltivatioji and Prtining. 



213 



Mr. John S. Collins, of Moorestovvn, N. J., by the following ingenious, 
yet simple, invention, is able to drive through his currant and raspberry 
fields without injuring the plants. " An ordinary cart is changed by 
putting in an axle fifteen inches longer than usual, the wheels thus making 
a track six feet and eight inches wide. The shafts and body of the cart 
are put just as close to one wheel as possible, so that the horse and the 
Avheel will pass as near together, and as near in a line, as practicable. The 
axle of the other wheel being long, and bowing up several inches higher 
than ordinary in the middle, it passes over a row of bushes with little or 
no damage. Thus, fertilizers can be carried to all parts of the field." 

Of course, it would not do to drive through bushes laden with fruit; 
but after they were picked, such a vehicle could cause but little injury. 

In the garden and for home use there is the widest latitude. We 
may content ourselves, as many do, with a few old Red Dutch bushes 







Weighinsf Currants. 



that, for a generation, have struggled with grass and burdocks. We may 
do a little better, and set out plants in ordinary garden soil, but forget 
for years to give a particle of food to the starving bushes, remarking 



2 14 Success with Small Fruits. 

annually, with increasing emphasis, that they must be " running out." 
Few plants of the garden need high feeding more, and no others are more 
generally starved. I will guarantee that there are successful farmers who 
no more think of manuring a currant bush than of feeding crows. This 
fruit will live, no matter how we abuse it, but there are scarcely any 
that respond more quickly to generous treatment ; and in the garden where 
it is not necessary to keep such a single eye to the margin of profit, 
many beautiful and interesting things can be done with the currant. The 
majority will be satisfied with large, vigorous bushes, well enriched, 
mulched and skillfully pruned. If we choose, however, we may 
train them into pretty little trees, umbrella, globe, or pyramidal in 
shape, according to our fancy, and, by watchfulness and the use of 
ashes, keep away the borers. The beautiful cluster of Cherry currants 
seen in the engraving was taken from a little tree about three feet high, 
grown in the following simple manner. I found a few vigorous shoots 
that had made a growth of nearly three feet in a single season. With 
the exception of the terminal bud and three or four just below it, I 
disbudded these shoots carefully, imbedded the lower ends six inches in 
moist soil, as one would an ordinary cutting, and they speedily took root 
and developed into little trees. Much taller and more ornamental cur- 
rant and gooseberry trees can be obtained by grafting any variety we 
wish on the Missouri species ( Ribes Aureum). These, as the artist has 
suggested, can be made pretty and useful ornaments of the lawn, as 
well as of the garden. Instead, therefore, of weed-choked, sprawling, 
unsightly objects, currant bushes can be made things of beauty, as well 
as of sterling worth; and how very beautiful they are will, perhaps, be 
realized for the first time by some who study the artist's work. 

The cultivation of the currant is very simple. As early in the spring 
as the ground is dry enough, it should be thoroughly stirred by plow 
or cultivator, and all perennial weeds and grasses just around the 
bushes taken out with pronged hoes or forks. If a liberal top- 
dressing of compost or some other fertilizer was not given in the autumn, 
which is the best time to apply it, let it be spread over the roots (not 
up against the stems) before the first spring cultivation. While the 
bushes are still young, they can be cultivated and kept clean, like any 
hoed crop ; but after they come into bearing, — say the third summer, — 
a different course must be adopted. If the ground is kept mellow and bare 
under the bushes, the fruit will be so splashed with earth as to be unsalable, 
and washed fruit is scarcely fit for the table. We very properly wish it 
with just the bloom and coloring which nature is a month or more in 



Planting, Cultivation and Priming. 



215 



elaborating. Muddy or rinsed fruit suggests the sty, not a dining-room. 
A mulch of leaves, straw, evergreen boughs, — anything that will keep the 
ground clean, — applied immediately after the early spring culture, is the 
best and most obvious way of 

preserving the fruit ; and this --^Kr*^ 

method also secures all the ^^ 

good results which have been 
shown to follow mulching. 
Where it is not convenient to 
mulch, I would suggest that the 
ground be left undisturbed after 
the first thorough culture, until 
the fruit is gathered. The weeds 
that grow in the interval may 
be mowed, and allowed to fall 
under the bushes. By the end 
of June, the soil will have become 
so fixed that, with a partial sod 
of weeds, the fruit may hang 
over, or even rest upon it, with- 
out being splashed by the heavy 
rains then prevalent. This 
course is not so neat as clean 
cultivation or mulching. Few 
fruit growers, however, can 
afford to make appearances the 
first consideration. I have heard 
of oats being sown among the 
bushes to keep the fruit clean, 
but their growth must check 
the best development of the fruit 
quite as much as the natural 
crop of weeds. It would be 
better to give clean culture, and 
grow rye, or any early maturing 
green crop, somewhere else, and when the fruit begins to turn, spread 
this material under the bushes. On many places, the m.owings of weedy, 
swampy places would be found sufficient for the purpose. After the 
fruit is gathered, start the cultivator and hoe at once, so as to secure 
vigorous foliage and healthful growth throughout the entire summer. 




Currants and Gooseberries in Tree Form. 



2i6 Success with Small Fruits. 

Pruning may be done any time after the leaves fall, and success 
depends upon its judicious and rigorous performance. The English 
gardeners have recognized this fact, and they have as minute and care- 
ful a system as we apply to the grape. These formal and rather 
arbitrary methods can scarcely be followed practically in our hurried 
American life. It seems to me that I can do no better than to lay down 
some sound and general principles and leave their working out to the 
judgment of the grower. In most instances, I imagine our best gar- 
deners rarely trim two bushes exactly alike, but deal with each according 
to its vigor and natural tendencies, for a currant bush has not a little 
individuality. 

A young bush needs cutting back like a young grape-vine, and for the 
same reason. A grape-vine left to itself would soon become a mass of 
tangled wood yielding but little fruit, and that of inferior quality. In like 
manner nature, uncurbed, gives us a great, straggling bush that is choked 
and rendered barren by its own luxuriance. Air and light are essential, 
and the knife must make spaces for them. Cutting back and shortening 
branches develops fruit buds. Otherwise, we have long, unproductive 
reaches of wood. This is especially true of the Cherry and other varieties 
resembling it. The judicious use of the knife, kept up from year to year, 
will almost double their productiveness. Again, too much very young 
and too much old wood are causes of unfruitfulness. The skillful culturist 
seeks to produce and preserve many points of branching and short spurs, 
for it is here that the little fruit buds cluster thickly. When a branch is 
becoming black and feeble from age, cut it back to the root, that space 
may be given for younger growth. From six to twelve bearing stems, 
Irom three to five feet high, with their shortened branches and fruit spurs, 
may be allowed to grow from the roots, according to the vigor of the 
plant and the space allotted to it. Usually, too many suckers start in the 
spring. Unless the crop of young wood is valuable for propagation, all 
except such as are needed to renew the bush should be cut out as early 
as possible, before they have injured the forming crop. In England, great 
attention is paid to summer pruning, and here much might be accom- 
plished by it if we had, or would take, the time. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



CURRANTS, CONTINUED — PROPAGATION, VARIETIES. 



PRUNING naturally leads to the subject of propagation, for much 
of that which is cut away, so far from being useless, is often of great 
value to the nurseryman ; and there are few who grow this fruit for 
market who could not turn many an honest penny if they would 
take the refuse young wood of the previous summer's growth and 
develop it into salable bushes. In most instances, a market would be 
found in their own neighborhood. Nothing is easier than success in 
raising young currant bushes, except failure. If cuttings are treated in 
accordance with their demand for moisture and coolness, they grow with 
almost certainty ; if subjected to heat and drought, they usually soon 
become dry sticks. The very best course is to make and plant our 
cuttings in September or very early in October — just as soon as the leaves 
fall or will rub off readily. As is true of a root-slip, so also the wood 
cutting must make a callus at its base before there can be growth. From 
this the roots start out. Therefore, the earlier in the fall that cuttings are 
made, the more time for the formation of this callus. Often, autumn- 
planted cuttings are well rooted before winter, and have just that much 
start over those that must begin life in the spring. Six inches is the 
average length. See Figures A, B and C. Let the cuttings be sunk in 
deep, rich, moist, but thoroughly well- drained soil, so deeply as to leave 
but two or three buds above the ground. In the garden, where the design 
is to raise a few fine bushes for home use merely, let the rows be two 
28 



2l8 



Success with Small Fruits. 




A 



feet apart and the cuttings six inches apart in the row. In raising them 
by the thousand for market, we must economize space and labor ; and, 
therefore, one of the best methods, after rendering the ground mellow 
and smooth, is to stretch a line across the plat or field ; then, beginning on 
one side of the line, to strike a spade into the soil its full depth, press it 
forward and draw it out. This leaves a slight opening of the width and 
_A depth of the spade, and a boy, fol- 

lowing, inserts in this three cuttings, 
one in the middle and one at each end. 
The man then steps back and drives 
the spade down again about four inches 
in the rear of the first opening, and, 
as he presses his spade forward to 
make a second, he closes up the first 
opening, pressing — indeed, almost 
pinching — the earth around the three 
slips that have just been thrust down, 
until but one or two buds are above 
111 '|/, ]\ the surface. We thus have a row of 

•'• Wii//li I cuttings, three abreast, and about three 

inches apart, across the entire field. 
A space of three feet is left for cultiva- 
tion, and then we plant, as before, 
another triple row. These thick rows 
should be taken up the following fall, 
when the largest may be sold, or 
„^ planted where they are to fruit, and 
the smaller ones replanted in nursery 
rows. When land is abundant, the 
cuttings may be sunk in single rows, 
with suf^cient space between for horse 
cultivation, and allowed to mature into 
two-year-old plants without removal. 
If these are not planted or sold, they should be cut back rigorously before 
making the third year's growth. 

In moist land, cuttings can be made to grow even if set out late in 
the spring, especially if top-dressed and mulched ; but if they are to be 
started on high, dry land, they should be out sufificiently early in the 
autumn to become rooted before winter. If our land is of a nature that 
tends to throw roots out of the ground, — and moist, heavy land has this 




Currant Cuttings and Callus. 
(See Figs. A, B, C.) 



Varieties. 219 

tendency, — it may be best to bury the cuttings in bundles, tied up with 
fine wire, on a dry knoll, below the action of the frost, and set them out 
early — as early as possible — in the spring. At any season, the rows of 
cuttings should be well top-dressed with fine manure, and, if planted in 
autumn, they should be so well covered with straw, leaves, or some litter, 
as not to suffer or be thrown out in freezing and thawing weather. I 
manage to get half my cuttings out in the fall, and half in early spring. 

In the green-house, and even out-of-doors, under very favorable circum- 
stances, plants may be grown from single buds ; and green wood also 
propagates readily under glass. 

A vigorous young plant, with roots attached, may often be obtained by- 
breaking off the suckers that start beneath the surface around the stems; 
and, by layering or bending bushes over and throwing dirt upon them, new 
plants are readily made, also ; but, more shapely, and usually more vigorous, 
bushes are obtained by simple cuttings, as I have described. 

When it is designed to grow a cutting in a tree form, all the buds but 
two or three at the top should be carefully removed. 

If we wish to try our fortune in raising new varieties, we must sow 
seeds of the very best specimens we can find, gathered when perfectly ripe. 
These seeds should never be kept where it is hot or very dry, and should 
be soaked for a day or two in tepid water before planting. Sow early in 
spring, quarter of an inch deep, in fine, rich soil, which must continually 
be kept moist, but never wet. Top-dressings of very fine, light manure 
would keep the surface from baking, thus giving the seeds a chance to 
germinate. Tolerate no weeds. Remove the seedlings in the fall to rows 
three feet apart, and the plants two feet distant in the row. There they 
may stand until their comparative value can be determined. 



VARIETIES. 

Black currants form quite a distinct class in appearance and flavor, and 
are not as popular with us as in England. They are stronger and coarser- 
growing plants than the red and white species, and do not require as high 
culture. They can be grown to advantage in tree form, as they are quite 
exempt from insect enemies. The tent caterpillar is the only one that I 
have seen injuring them. They also require much less pruning, since the 
best fruit is borne on the young wood of the previous year's growth. If 
they are grown as bushes, they need more room, — six feet apart each 
way, — and the knife need be used only to secure good form and space for 



220 Success with Small Fruits. 

air and light. Two native species — Ribcs Floridunt and Ribes Aureum — 
are cultivated to some extent (for description see " Gray's Botany "). 
Although these species and their varieties are of little value, Mr. Fuller 
thinks that they might become the parents of far better kinds than we now 
have, since they are strong growers, and their fruit is naturally of better 
flavor than that of the European black currant. Ribes Aicreuin is largely 
cultivated as an ornamental shrub, and its spicy-scented, bright yellow 
flowers of early spring are among my pleasantest memories. As has 
already been explained, we can make miniature trees of our white and red 
currants, by grafting them on its strong, erect-growing stems. Ribes 
Nigrum is the European species, and is found wild throughout the northern 
part of the Eastern hemisphere. Mr. Fuller writes that the inhabitants of 
Siberia make a beverage from its dried leaves which is said closely to 
resemble green tea. Black Naples is the finest variety of this species. 
Charles Downing says of it : " Its berries often measure nearly three- 
quarters of an inch in diameter. Its leaves and blossoms appear earlier 
than those of the common, or English Black, but the fruit is later, and the 
clusters as well as the berries are larger and more numerous." Lee's 
Prolific is said by some to be a slight improvement on the above; by others 
it is thought to be very similar. 

Of red currants, the old Red Dutch is the most prominent. It is the 
currant of memory. From it was made the wine which our mothers and 
grandmothers felt that they could offer with perfect propriety to the 
minister. There are rural homes to-day in which the impression still 
lingers that it is a kind of temperance drink. From it is usually made the 
currant jelly, without which no lady would think of keeping house in the 
country. Mrs. Foote's charming drawing suggests one of the gravest 
questions in the domestic economy, — whether the jelly will "jell." Often, 
it does not, and cannot be made to. The cause of its lamentable 
perversity is this : The currants have been left until over-ripe before 
picking, or they have been picked wet, just after rain. Gather them when 
dry, and as soon as possible after they have turned red, and I am informed 
by the highest domestic authority (my wife) that there will be no difficulty. 

In flavor, the Red Dutch is unequaled by any other red currant. It is 
also a variety that can scarcely be killed by abuse and neglect, and it 
responds so generously to high culture and rigorous pruning, that it is an 
open question whether it cannot be made, after all, the most profitable for 
market, since it is so much more productive than the larger varieties, and 
can be made to approach them so nearly in size. Indeed, not a few are 
annually sold for Cherry currants. 



Varieties. 




The White Dutch is 
similar to the Red in the 
growth and character of 
the bush. The clusters, 
however, are a Httle short- 
er, and the fruit a Httle 



Red Dutch Currant. 



222 



Success ivitJi Small Fruits. 



larger and sweeter, and is of a fine yellowish-white color, with a veined, 
translucent skin. 

The White Grape is an advance in size upon the last-named, and its 
marvelous productiveness and beauty are suggested in the engraving. 
It is not as vigorous as the White Dutch, and is more spreading in its mode 







White Grape Currants. 



of growth, requiring careful pruning to make a shapely bush. The fruit, 
also, is not spread so evenly over the wood, but is produced more in 
bunches. In flavor, it is one of the very best. 

Dana's Transparent, and other white varieties, do not vary materially 
from either the White Grape or Dutch. 



Varieties. - 223 

The great market currant is the Cherry. In the Canadian HorticiLli- 
iirist, for September, 1878, I find the following: 

" The history of this handsome currant is not without interest. Monsieur 
Adrienne Seneclause, a distinguished horticulturist in France, received it from 
Italy among a lot of other currants. He noticed the extraordinary size of 
the fruit, and gave it, in consequence, the name it yet bears. In the year 
1843, it was fruited in the nursery of the Museum of Natural History, and figured 
from these samples in the Annales de Flore et de Ponione for February, 1 848. Dr. 
Wilham W. Valk, of Flushing, Long Island, N. Y., introduced it to the notice of 
American fruit growers in 1846, having imported some of the plants in the spring of 
that year." 

This variety is now very widely disseminated, and its culture is appar- 
ently becoming increasingly profitable every year. Two essentials are 
requisite to success with it — high manuring and skillful pruning. It has 
the tendency to produce long branches, on which there are but few 
buds. Rigorous cutting back, so as to cause branching joints and fruit 
spurs, should be practiced annually. The foliage is strong and coarse, and 
the fruit much more acid than the Dutch family ; but, size and beauty carry 
the market, and the Cherry can be made, by high culture, very large and 
beautiful, as the engraving suggests. (See page 243.) 

Versailles, or La Versaillaise, is a figurative bone of contention. The 
horticultural doctors disagree so decidedly that the rest of us can, without 
presumption, think for ourselves. Mr. A. S. Fuller has probably given the 
subject more attention than any one else, and he asserts, without any hesi- 
tancy, that this so-called variety is identical with the Cherry. Mr. Fuller 
is certainly entitled to his opinion, for he obtained plants of the Cherry and 
Versailles from all the leading nurserymen in America, and imported them 
from the standard nurseries abroad, not only once, but repeatedly, yet 
could never get two distinct varieties. The writer in the Canadian Horti- 
culturist also states in regard to the Versailles : " Some pains were taken 
to obtain this variety on different occasions, and from the most reliable 
sources, so that there might be no mistake as to the correctness of the name ; 
but after many years of trial, we are unable to perceive any decided varia- 
tion, either in the quality of the fruit, the length of the bunch, or the habit 
of the plant, from the Cherry currant." 

I must admit that I am inclined to take the same view ; for, during 
several years, I have looked in vain for two distinct varieties. I have care- 
fully kept the two kinds separate, but find in each case the same stout, 
stocky, short-jointed, erect shoots that are often devoid of buds, and 



224 



Success with Small Frtiiis. 



tend to become naked with age, and the same dark green, thick, bluntly 
and coarsely serrated foliage. Mr. Downing thinks the difference lies in 
the fact, that while the Versailles strain produces many short bunches like 
the Cherry, it also frequently bears clusters, of which the engraving is a 
type, and that such long, tapering clusters are never formed on the Cherry. 
This is the only difference, I think, if any exists ; 
but in no instance have I been able to find this 
distinction well defined and sustained by the bear- 
ing plantations that I have seen. Mr. Downing, 
however, has had tenfold more experience than 
I have, and his opinions are entitled to correspond- 
ing weight. 

That this class is much inclined to " sport," I 
think all will admit. One bush in a row may be 
loaded with fruit year after year, and the next one 
be comparatively barren. The clusters on one 
bush may be short and characteristic of the 
Cherry, while a neighboring bush in the same 
patch may show a tendency to mingle some long 
clusters with the short ones ; and young bushes 
grown from the same plant will show these vari- 
ations. I am satisfied that distinct and much im- 
proved strains could be developed by propagating 
from bushes producing the best and most abundant 
fruit, and that a variety having the characteristics 
of the Ideal Versailles could be developed. The 
importance of this careful selection in propagation 
can scarcely be overestimated, and the fruit 
grower who followed it up for a few years might 
almost double the productiveness and quality of 
many of his varieties. 

Victoria (known also as May's Victoria, and 
having a half-dozen other synonyms) is a distinct 
variety, whose great value consists in its lengthen- 
ing out the currant season two or three weeks after 
the above-named kinds have matured. The fruit is also large, — between 
the Red Dutch and Cherry in size, — exceedingly abundant, and, although 
rather acid, of good flavor when fully ripe. The clusters are very long, — 
from five to seven inches, — tapering, and the berries are bright red. If 
it is grown in some moist, cool, half-shady location, the bunches will 




The Ideal Versailles Cluster. 



Varieties. 225 

hang on the bushes very late in the season. In many locahties, it is 
found very profitable, since it need not be sold until the others are out of 
the market. The young branches are rather slender, but the plant itself 
is vigorous, and can be grown at less expense than the Cherry. 

There are many other named varieties, but in the majority of instances 
the distinctions between them are slight, and, as they are waning before 
the finer varieties that I have described, I shall not attempt to lighten 
the shadows that are gathering around them. The future promises more 
than the past, and I think that, before many years pass, some fine, new 
kinds will be introduced. 

The enemies and diseases of the currant will be treated in a later 
chapter. 



29 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



GOOSEBERRIES. 



I HAVE treated the currant very fully, not only because it is the more 
popular fruit in this country, but also because the greater part of my 
suggestions under that heading applies equally to this branch of the Ribes 
tribe. Possessing the same general characteristics, it should be treated on 
the same principles that were seen to be applicable to the currant. It 
flourishes best in the same cool exposures, and is the better for partial 
shade. . Even in the south of England, the more tender-skinned varieties 
often scald in the sun. However, I would recommend the shade of a 
fence or a northern hill-side, rather than overhanging branches of trees. 
A rich soil, especially one that is deep and moist, but not wet, is equally 
requisite, and the rigorous annual pruning is even more essential. As the 
wood becomes old and black, it should be cut out altogether. Fruit buds 
and spurs are produced on wood two or more years old, and cutting back 
causes these, but they must not be allowed to become too crowded. To 
no fruit are air and light more essential. 

We have in this country two very distinct classes of gooseberries — 
the first of foreign origin, and the second consisting of our native species. 
Gray thus describes Ribes Grossiilaria, garden or English gooseberry: 
"Cultivated from Europe for the well-known fruit ; thorny and prickly, 
with small, obtuse, three to five-lobed leaves, green flowers, one to three 
on short pedicels, bell-shaped calyx, and large berry." 

This native of northern Europe, and the forests of the British Islands, 
has been developed into the superb varieties which have been famous so 



Gooseberries. 227 

long in England, but which we are able to grow with very partial success. 
It remembers its birthplace even more strongly than the currant, and the 
almost invariable mildew of our gardens is the sign of its homesickness. 
The cool, moist climate of England just suits it, and it is the pride of the 
gardens of Lancashire to surpass the world in the development of large 
specimens. Mr. Downing writes : 

" We are indebted to the Lancashire weavers, who seem to have taken it up as 
a hobby, for nearly all the surprisingly large sorts of modern date. Lheir annual 
shows exhibit this fruit in its greatest perfection, and a gooseberry book is pub- 
lished in Manchester every year, giving a list of all the prize sorts, etc." 

The extraordinary pains taken is suggested by the following quota- 
tion from the Encyclopaedia of Gardening : 

" To effect this increased size, every stimulant is applied that their ingenuity can 
suggest. They not only annually manure the soil richly, but also surround the 
plants with trenches of manure for the extremities of the roots to strike into, and 
form round the stem of each plant a basin, to be mulched, or manured, or watered, 
as may become necessary. When a root has extended too far from the stem, it 
is uncovered, and all the strongest leaders are shortened back nearly one-half of 
their length, and covered with fresh, marly loam, well manured. The effect of 
this pruning is to increase the number of fibres and spongioles, which form rapidly 
on the shortened roots, and strike out in all directions among the fresh, newly 
stirred loam, in search of nutriment." 

This is carrying culture to an extreme rarely, if ever, seen in America. 
The annual referred to above recorded one hundred and fifty-five goose- 
berry exhibitions in 1863. The number of varieties is almost endless, and 
more than seven hundred prize sorts are named in Lindley's " Guide to the 
Orchard"; but not one of them, I fear, can be grown in this country, except 
under favorable conditions and with extra care. Even after supplying such 
conditions, they will often mildew in spite of our best efforts. Again, in some 
localities, and for obscure causes, they will thrive and continue for years 
quite free from this chief enemy of the foreign gooseberry. Repeated 
applications of the flowers of sulphur over the bushes, from the time the fruit 
sets until it is ripe, are probably the best preventive. Thorough mulching, 
rigorous pruning, and high culture are also to be recommended. Those 
who garden for pleasure would do well to try some of these fine foreigners. 

The following are some that Mr. Downing and others have recom- 
mended : 



Success zvith Small Fruits. 



mil 



I. Red Varieties : British Crown, Top Sawyer, Roaring Lion, Lanca- 
shire Lad, Crown Bob. 

II. White : Cheshire Lass, White Lion, Whitesmith, White Honey. 

III. Green: Laurel, Heart of Oak, Jolly Angler, Jolly Tar. 

IV. Yellow : Golden Fleece, Bunker Hill, Conqueror, etc. 

If but two or three foreign berries are to be chosen, I would recom- 
mend Crown Bob, Roaring Lion and Whitesmith. 

I am sorry to say that seedlings 

\' of these foreign varieties have the 

^^" " ~" '" same tendency to mildew shown 

by their parents. The Late Emer- 
ald, suggested in the engraving, 
'^ was originated in the old garden 

at Newburgh, and is a sad example 
of this fact. For many years, it 
thrived in its birthplace without 
a trace of mildew, but on my own 
place it has behaved so badly that 
I do not recommend it. Were it 
not for this fault, I should grow 
no other variety. 

In view of this inveterate evil, 
mildew, which is so seldom escaped 
and so difficult to overcome, we 
must turn to the second great 
class, our native species, since they 
are adapted to our climate. Of 
these there are several species, of 
which the following are the most 
prominent : 

Ribes Speciosiim, showy, flower- 
ing gooseberry of California, culti- 
vated for ornament, especially in 
England, and likely to succeed in 
the southern Middle States. It is 
trained like a climber ; has small, shining leaves, very handsome flowers 
resembling those of a fuchsia, berry prickly, and few-seeded. 

R. Rotundifolium, more common in the West, is often downy-leaved ; 
peduncles slender ; the slender stamens and two-parted style longer than 
the narrow calyx ; berry smooth. 





Late Emerald Gooseberry. 






Gooseben'-ies. 

''''ill AiK 



229 







Houghton Seedling Gooseberry. 



7?. Cyfiosbati is found in the rocky woods of the 
North, is downy-leaved, with slender peduncle, 
stamens and undivided style not exceeding the 
broad calyx ; large berry, usually prickly. 

R. Lacustre, Lake or Swamp Gooseberry, with 
the prickly stems of the gooseberry, but with a 
raceme of flowers like those of a currant ; found in 
the cold bogs and wet woods of the North ; small, 
bristly berries, of unpleasant flavor. 
Last, but by no means the least, is the Ribes Hirtelhmi, " commonest 
in our Eastern States, seldom downy, with very short thorns or none, very 
short peduncles, stamens and two-cleft style scarcely longer than the bell- 
shaped calyx; and the smooth berry is purple, small and sweet." — (Gray.) 
This is the parent of the most widely known of our native varieties, the 
Houghton Seedling, named from its originator, Abel Houghton, of Lynn, 
Massachusetts. The bush is a vigorous grower, that will thrive, with decent 
culture, on any moderately good soil, and is very rarely injured by mildew. 
At the same time, it improves greatly under high culture and pruning. 
The bush has a slender and even weeping habit of growth, and can be 
propagated readily by cuttings. From the Houghton have been grown 
two seedlings that now are justly the most popular. 

The first and best of these is the Downing, originated by Mr. Charles 
Downing, of Newburgh. It is an " upright, vigorous-growing plant, 
very productive. Fruit somewhat larger than the Houghton, roundish- 
oval, whitish-green, with the rib veins distinct. Skin smooth. Flesh rather 
soft, juicy." I consider this the best and most profitable variety that 
can be generally grown in this country. In flavor, it is excellent. I have 
had eood success with it whenever I have given it fair culture. It does 



230 



Success with Small Fruits. 



not propagate readily from cuttings, and therefore I increase it usually 
by layering. 

The second seedling is Smith's Improved, a comparatively new variety 
that is winning favor. It more closely resembles the Houghton in its 




} . ^ 




fih U 



Downing Gooseberry. 

habit of growth than the Downing, and yet is more vigorous and upright 
than its parent. The fruit is considerably larger than the Houghton, oval, 
light green, with a bloom, moderately firm, sweet and good. 

Mountain Seedling, originating with the Shakers at Lebanon, New 
York, is the largest of the American varieties, but for some reason it does 
not gain in popularity. 

Cluster, or American Red, is an old variety of unknown origin. The 
ancestral bush may have been found in the woods. The fruit is scarcely 
as large as that of the Houghton, is darker in color when fully ripe, hangs 
long on the bush, and is sweet and good. Mr. P. Barry says that it never 
mildews. Therefore, it should be made one of the parents of new 
varieties, for in this direction lies the future of this fruit in America. 

In support of this opinion, I am led to quote the following letter, 
recently received : 



" I write to call your attention to a native variety of goosebeny, of which you 
make no mention in your Scribner papers, growing in great abundance in the Sierra 
•Nevada, at an elevation of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet, often in the most exposed 
places, generally on northern slopes. Thinking it may not have come to your 



Gooseberries. 



231 



knowledge, I will describe it : The bush is of stiff, erect habit, two to three feet 
high, a stocky grower and an abundant bearer. The berries vary from one-half to one 
and one-quarter inches in diameter, are covered with innumerable thorns, scarcely 
less savage in the green state than those on an ordinary wild bush of this country. 
When cooked, the prickles soften down to the same consistence as the skin, which 
is rather thick. When ripe, they are easily peeled, and well repay the trouble, the 
spines being then much less obdurate than when green. The mature fruit is of a 
deep, dull, coppery red color, and in flavor is equal, if not superior, to any of the 
red varieties which I have eaten in England. I have often wondered whether 
cultivation might not remove the spines from the berries, or, that failing, whether 
a seedling could not be raised from them which would give us a berry far more 
reliable than any good gooseberry we now have. The scorching sun of the long, 
dry season of California seemed to have no effect on the foliage, and in five years' 
experience I never found a mildewed berry. 

" The berry is round, Hke the red English berries, instead of ellipsoid, like 
their white or golden ones. 

" There is also another variety, hairy instead of spiny, about the size of your 
picture of the Downing; bush not so free a grower, rarely reaching two feet, and 
the berry, to my taste, much inferior. Tastes, however, differ, and it may be the 
more promising fruit. 

" Both varieties are common throughout the eastern end of El Dorado, 
Placer, and Nevada counties." 

The first-named, or thorny gooseberry, probably belongs to the Ribes 
Cynosbati, and the latter to the R. Rotundifolium. The writer is correct 
in thinking that, if such gooseberries are growing wild, cultivation and 
selection could secure vast improvements. When we remember that 
English gardeners started with a native species inferior to ours, we are led 
to believe that effort and skill like theirs will here be rewarded by kinds as 
superb, and as perfectly adapted to our climate. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES OF SMALL FRUITS. 



NATURE is very impartial. It is evidently her intention that we 
shall enjoy all the fruits for which we are willing to pay her price, 
in work, care or skill ; but she seems equally bent on supplying the 
hateful white grub with strawberry roots, and currant worms with succu- 
lent foliage. Indeed, it might even appear that she had a leaning 
toward her small children, no matter how pestiferous they are. At any 
rate, under the present order of things, lordly man is often their servant, 
and they reap the reward of his labors. 

Did not Nature stumble a little when man fell ? She manages to 
keep on the right side of the poets and painters ; for it would seem 
that they see her only when in moods that are smiling, serious or 
grand. The scientist, too, she beguiles, by showing under the micro- 
scope how exquisitely she has fashioned some little embodiment of evil 
that may be the terror of a province, or the scourge of a continent. While 
the learned man is explaining how wonderfully its minute organs are 
formed, for mastication, assimilation, procreation, etc., practical people, who 
have their bread to earn, are impatiently wishing that the whole genus 
was under their heels, confident that the organs would become still 
more minute. 

The horticulturist should be cast in heroic mold, for he not only must 
bear his part in the fight with moral wrong, like other men, but must 
also cope with vegetable and insect evil. Weeds, bugs, worms — what 



Diseases and Insect Enemies of Small Frnits. 233 

hateful little vices many of them seem in nature! I do not wish to be 
thought indiscriminate. Many insects are harmless and beautiful ; and, if 
harmless, no one can object if they are not pretty. Not a few are very 
useful, as, for instance, the little parasite of the cabbage worm. There 
is need of a general and unremitting crusade against our insect enemies ; 
but it should be a discriminating war, for it is downright cruelty to kill 
a harmless creature, however small. Still, there are many pests that, 
like certain forms of evil, will destroy if not destroyed ; and they have 
brought disaster and financial ruin to multitudes. 

Mark Tapley hit upon the true philosophy of life, and it is usually 
possible to take a cheerful view of everything ; such a view I suggest 
to the reader, in regard to the pests of the garden that often lead us 
into sympathy with the man who wished that there was " a form of 
sound words in the Prayer-Book which might be used in cases of great 
provocation." Under the present order of things, skill, industry, and 
prompt, vigilant action are rewarded. Humanity's besetting sin is lazi- 
ness ; but weeds and insects, for months together, make this vice well- 
nigh impossible, save to those who are so unfortunate as to live on the 
industry of others. Therefore, though our fruits often suffer, men are 
developed, and made more patient, energetic, resolute, persevering — in 
brief, more manly. Put the average man into a garden where there were no 
vegetable diseases, insects and weeds to cope with, and he himself would 
become a weed. Moreover, it would seem that in those regions where 
Nature hinders men as much as she helps them, they are all the better 
for their difficulties, and their gardens also. Such skill and energy are 
developed that not only are the horticultural enemies vanquished, but 
they are often made the means of a richer and a fuller success. 

In a valuable paper read before the New Jersey State Horticultural 
Society, and recently published in the American Entomologist, Mr. A. 
S. Fuller makes the following useful suggestions : 



" Insects and diseases are frequently so closely united, or so dependent upon 
each other, that the naturalist often finds it difficult to determine to which the 
fruit grower should attribute his losses. Some species of insects attack only dis- 
eased or dead plants ; others only the living and healthy. If a plant shows signs 
of failing, we are inclined to speak of it as being diseased, whether the failure is 
caused by a lack of some element in the soil, attacks of parasitic fungi, or 
noxious insects. The loss is the same in the end, whether from one or all of these 
enemies combined. 

" There are two practical methods of combating insect enemies and diseases of 
plants ; on'e is to so carefully cultivate and stimulate the growth of the plants 

30 



234 Success zvith Small Fruits. 

that they may possess the power of resisting attack ; the other is to make war 
directly upon them by artificial means. Of course, the first method is most 
applicable or practicable against the more minute species, such as the plant-lice, 
rust, smut and mildew. I do not recommend forcing plants to extremes, in order 
to enable them to resist their enemies, as this might work an irreparable injury ; but 
the condition to be aimed at should be a healthy, vigorous growth ; for, anything 
beyond this is more the sign of weakness than strength. 

" The half-starved, overworked and uncared-for horse is sure, sooner or later, 
to become the prey of various kinds of internal and external parasites, which are 
thrown off, or successfully resisted in their attacks, by the healthy, vigorous and well- 
fed animal ; and the same principle holds good all through the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms — whether the subject be a man, horse, sturdy oak, or delicate strawberry 
plant. Not that all diseases are due to loss of vigor through starvation and neglect ; 
but that a large number of them are is well known." 



STRAWBERRIES. 

We all have seen these principles verified. In the Great American 
strawberry, I think, we have an example of feebleness resulting from 
over-stimulation. The Wilson Seedling, that, in the local vernacular, is 
sometimes said to be " running out," is, in contrast, the consequence of 
starvation, neglect, and long-continued propagation from poor, mixed 
stock. Feebleness can scarcely be called a disease, and yet it is best 
counteracted by the tonic treatment suggested by Mr. Fuller. 

In loose, light soils, the Aphis, or Green Fly, often penetrates to the 
roots of strawberry plants in immense numbers, and they suck away life 
or vitality. The tonic of wood ashes scattered over the rows will usually 
destroy the pests. Refuse from the tobacco factory is also recommended. 

I think that wood ashes and bone dust are excellent preventives of 
burning or sun-scalding. They give the plants such vigor that they are 
able to resist sudden or great climatic changes, from heat to cold, or from 
drought to moisture. 

Many varieties are enfeebled by their disposition to run profusely. 
Kerr's Prolific, for example, will speedily sod the ground with small, puny 
plants, whose foliage will burn so badly that the fruit can scarcely mature. 
Set out these small plants, and give the tonic treatment of cutting off all 
runners, and large, bushy stools, with vigorous foliage and superb fruit, will 
result. Indeed, next to fertilizers and moisture, there is nothing that so 
enhances the vigor and productiveness of a plant as clipping the runners 
as fast as they appear. The uncurbed habit of running depletes almost 
like disease; and but few varieties will make large fruit buds and runners 
at the same time. 



Strawberries. 



235 



In close, wet weather, the fruit and leaf-stalks will sometimes suffer 
from mildew ; and occasionally a microscopic fungi, known as the straw- 
berry brand, will attack the foliage. I have also seen, in a few instances, 
a disease that resembled the curl-leaf in raspberries. The plants were 
dwarfed, foliage wrinkled and rusty, and fruit misshapen, like small, gnarly 
apples. In all such instances I believe in tonic treatment, of wood 
ashes, bone dust, guano, and fertilizers of like nature, used with care. 
Plants do not need over-doses or over-feeding any more than we do 
ourselves. When a few plants are diseased, I believe in rigorously rooting 
them out and burning them. If a field is affected, as soon as possible turn 
the plants under, and renovate the land with clover, buckwheat, a light 
dressing of lime, and thorough exposure to the air, light and frost. By 
such methods, and a wise selection of fertilizers, I believe that strawberries 
can be raised on the same ground for centuries. My plants have always 
been exceptionally free from all kinds of disease or rust, and I attribute it 
to the liberal use of wood ashes. 

But there is one enemy that inspires me with fear and unmingled 
disgust. It is the type of a certain phase of character in society most 
difficult to deal with, and which the mantle of charity is rarely broad enough 
to cover — the stupidly and stolidly malignant, who have just sense enough 
to do a great deal of mischief, and to keep it hidden until too late for 
remedy. Science has dignified the detestable thing with a sonorous name, 
as usual — the Lachnosterna Fiisca ; already referred to. It does not 
deserve even its name in the common vernacular — White Grub ; for, its 
white is of a dingy hue, and its head dark, like its deeds. Has it a redeem- 
ing trait? " Give the de'il his due," says the proverb. The best I can say 
of the white grub is, that crows, and an odorous animal I forbear to name, 
are very fond of it. This fact, I think, is its sole virtue, its one entry on 
the credit side ; but there is a long, dark score against it. Of its havoc 
on the lawn and farm I will not speak, since it is sufficient for our pur- 
poses to state that it is the strawberry's worst foe. 

The best method of circumventing the " varmint " is to learn its 
ways; and, therefore, I shall outline its history, beginning at a period in its 
being when stupidity predominates over its evil — that is, when it is the 
May beetle or June bug, that blunders and bumps around in utter disre- 
gard of itself and every one else. In this stage it is like the awkward 
village loafer, quiet by day, but active and obtrusive in the early evening. 
It dislikes honest sunshine, but is attracted by artificial light, at 
which it precipitates itself with the same lack of sense and reason that 
marks the loafer's gravitation toward a lighted groggery. Moreover, in 



236 



Success with Small Fruits. 



the beetle phase, it is sure to appear at the most inopportune times and 
unsuitable places, creating the inevitable commotion which the blunderer 
and tactless are born to make. As it whisks aimlessly around, it may hit 
the clergyman's nose in the most pathetic sentence of his sermon, or drop 
into the soprano's mouth at the supreme climax of her trill. Satan him- 
self could scarcely produce a more complete absence of devotion than is 
often caused by these brainless creatures. 

Because quiet by day, they are not out of mischief, as defoliated trees 

often prove. As 
midsummer ap- 
proaches, they die 
off; but never 
until each female 
beetle has put 
into the ground 
about two hun- 
dred eggs, which 
neverfail to hatch. 
The first year, the 
grubs are little, 
and, while they 
do all the harm 
they can, the 
small roots they 
destroy are not 
seriously missed 
by the plants. 
The second year, 
their ability keeps 
pace with their 
disposition, and 
they occasionally 
(Lacknosterna Fusca.) destroy Straw- 

berries by the acre. More often, certain patches of a field or garden are 
infested, and sometimes will be kept bare of plants in spite of all one can 
do. Too often, the presence of the grub is learned only after the mischief 
is complete. You may have petted a strawberry plant for a year, and 
after it has developed into noble proportions, and awakened the best 
expectations from its load of immature fruit, you will, perhaps, find it 
wilting some morning. You then learn, for the first time, that this 




The White Grub. 



Remedies. 



237 



insidious enemy has been at work for days, and that not a root is left. 
An inch or two beneath the dying plant, the grub lies gorged and quiet 
in the early morning ; but, if undisturbed, it soon seeks the next best 
plant it can find, and it is so voracious that it is hard to compute the 
number it can destroy throughout the long season in which it works. 

Having made its full growth in the spring of the third year, this grub 
passes into the chrysalis state, and in May or June comes out a perfect 
insect, or beetle. It is " one, two, three, and out." 

While there are beetles every year, there is, in every locality, a special 
crop every third year ; in other words, if we observe beetles in great 
numbers during the coming May and June, we may expect them again in 
like quantities three years after, and every second year from such super- 
abundance they will be very destructive in all those fields throughout the 
locality wherein the eggs were laid. 

REMEDIES. 

When once our soil is full of them, scarcely any remedy is 
possible that year. Surface applications that would kill the grubs would 
also kill the plants. Where they are few and scattering, they can be dug 
out and killed. Sometimes, boys are paid so much a pint. When seeing 
a wilting plant, it would scarcely be human nature not to dig out the pest, 
and grind it under our heel. Prevention of the evil is usually our best 
hope. Mr. Downing writes to me: "I believe that if you would use 
refuse salt three or four years in succession, at the rate of five or six 
bushels to the acre, the grubs would not trouble you much. Salt will not 
kill the full-grown larvae, but those in a very young state." The reader 
will remember a statement in Mr. Hale's letter on commercial fertilizers 
confirmatory of this view. 

Experiments in this direction should be carefully made, since, in one 
instance that I am aware of, a fruit grower remarked, " I do not know 
whether the salt killed the grubs, but I know it killed my plants." It is 
my purpose, however, to try this agent very thoroughly. There is 
danger of our being misled in our estimate of the value of remedies, 
from forgetfulness of the habits of the insect. We find our ground full of 
larvae one year, and apply some cure or preventive. The following 
spring, the larvae become beetles and fly away, and, even if they fill the 
same ground with eggs again, the grubs are too small to be noticed that 
year ; and therefore we may claim that our remedy is effectual, when there 
may have been no effect from it whatever. 



238 Success with Small Fruits. 

One of the best preventives is to keep the soil under cultivation, 
for this beetle rarely lays its eggs in loose soil, preferring old meadows and 
moist, loamy, sodded land : the larvae are equally fond of grass roots. 
This is one of the reasons why a year or two of cultivation must often 
precede the planting of strawberries. When this fruit is grown in matted 
beds, they afford as attractive a place for the deposit of eggs as grass land, 
and this is another fact in favor of the narrow row system and thorough 
cultivation. 

Mr. Caywood, a nurseryman, says that he has prevented the approach 
of the grub by mixing a tea-spoonful of sulphur in the soil just beneath a 
plant, when setting it out. Mr. Peter B. Mead recommends the pomace 
of the castor bean spread on the surface around the plants. I have never 
tried these preventives. One thing certainly might be done — extermi- 
nating war might be waged on the beetles. In the morning, they are 
sluggish, and easily caught ; and in the evening, we can treat them as 
whisky venders do the loafers — burn them up. "Every female beetle 
killed heads off 200 grubs." If one could discover a complete remedy for 
this pest, he would deserve a statue in bronze. Mr. Fuller had a domesti- 
cated crow that would eat a hundred of these grubs daily. " When domesti- 
cated," he adds, " the crow forgets the tricks of his wild nature, and, not 
being a timid bird, he is not frightened by hoe or spade, but when the 
earth is turned over, is generally there to see and do his duty." 

A fruit grower writes to Professor C. V. Riley : " I inclose specimens of 
a terrible pest on my strawberry vines. The leaves are almost entirely des- 
troyed. I must fight them some way, or else give up the fruit entirely," 
etc. In a letter to the New York Tribune, Professor Riley replied : 

" The insect referred to is the Strawberry Worm ( Emphytus Maculatiis), the 
larvae of a saw-fly, which is of quite frequent occurrence in the West. I quote the 
following account of it from my Ninth Report : 

" Early in the Spring, numerous flies may be seen hanging to and flying about 
the vines, in fields which have been previously affected. They are dull and 
inactive in the cool of the morning and evening, and at these hours are seldom 
noticed. They are of a pitchy black color, with two rows of large, transverse, dull 
whitish spots upon the abdomen. The female, with the saw-like instrument peculiar 
to the insects of this family, deposits her eggs, by a most curious and interesting 
process, in the stems of the plants, clinging the while to the hairy substance by 
which these stems are covered. 

" The eggs are white, opaque, and 0.03 of an inch long, and may be readily 
perceived upon splitting the stalk, though the outside orifice at which they were intro- 
duced is scarcely visible. They soon increase somewhat in bulk, causing a swelling 
of the stalk, and hatch in two weeks, — more or less, according to the temperature, — 



Remedies. 239 

and, during the early part of May, the worms attract attention by the innumerable 
small holes they make in the leaves. Their colors are dirty yellow and gray green, 
and when not feeding, they rest on the under side of the leaf, curled up in a spiral 
manner, the tail occupying the center, and fall to the ground at the slightest dis- 
turbance. After changing their skin four times, they become fully grown, when they 
measure about three-fourths of an inch. 

" At this season, they descend into the ground, and form a weak cocoon of earth; 
the inside being made smooth by a sort of gum. In this they soon change to pupae, 
from which are produced a second breed of flies by the end of June and beginning of 
July. Under the influence of July weather, the whole process of egg depositing, etc., 
is rapidly repeated, and the second brood of worms descend into the earth during 
the fore part of August, and form their cocoons ; in which they remain in the cater- 
pillar state through the fall, winter, and early spring months, till the middle of April 
following, when they become pupae and flies again, as related. 

" The remedy is the same as that employed against the currant worm, which 
belongs to the same family. It consists of white hellebore, used either in powder or 
liquid." 

I think that tobacco dust or a strong decoction from the stems would 
prove effective, also. 

I have never had any experience with this worm, but have read 
of instances in which fields had been entirely cleared of the pest by 
young chickens and turkeys. 

The common little flea-beetle has often caused great injury to my 
recently planted beds. I once paid nearly $100 for a new, high-priced 
variety, and before I was aware of it, every plant had been devoured. 
They rarely injure large, fully matured plants, but are often very destruct- 
ive to those recently planted, especially if set during the summer. You 
cannot catch them ; for, as your hand approaches a leaf on which they 
cluster, they scatter with a sudden bound, and are at once lost to view, 
so nearly do they resemble the color of the ground. Slight dustings 
of dry wood ashes impede their feeding somewhat ; but I think we must 
cope with this insect as we do with the Colorado or potato beetle. It must 
be poisoned. Paris green, of course, will finish them speedily, but such 
a deadly poison must be used with great care, and if there is any green 
or ripe fruit on the vines, not used at all. Hellebore, London purple, 
tobacco dust, may destroy them ; and when little chickens can be 
employed, they are a sure remedy. 

"Black eyes," or the receptacle turning black, is caused by light 
frosts, to which the open flowers are very susceptible. If one's straw- 
berry bed were in bloom, and there was a prospect of a frosty night, 
I think the blossoms could be saved by covering the bed with four or 



240 Success with Small Fruits. 

five inches of straw or hay, and raking it off again as soon as the 
temperature rose sufficiently high in the morning. 

Without doubt, new diseases and enemies to the strawberry will be 
developed in the future, and as they come we must experiment till we 
find some means of mastering them. 



RASPBERRIES AND BLACKBERRIES. 

These two fruits are so near akin that they are subject to the 
attacks of the same diseases and enemies. The most fatal scourge of 
red raspberries that I have seen is what is called at Marlboro' the 
curl-leaf, and, if unchecked, it will eventually banish the famous Hudson 
River Antwerp from cultivation. As yet, no remedy has been found 
for it that I am aware of. I believe it to be contagious, and would 
advise that the plants be dug out and burned immediately, and that 
plantations of strong, healthy plants be made on new land that has 
never been in raspberries. I also suggest the free use of wood ashes and 
well-decayed compost. As far as my experience goes, this disease is 
confined to foreign varieties, and almost wholly, as yet, to the Antwerps. 

Mr. Fuller, in the paper already named, describes a disease among 
blackberries that resembles the raspberry curl-leaf so closely that it may 
be identical, and spring from the same cause. 

" Some ten years ago, the cultivators of the blackberry in various parts of New 
Jersey noticed that the ends of the young, growing canes, in summer, would occa- 
sionally curl, twist about, and often assume a singular, fasciated form, resulting in 
an entire check to their growth. The leaves on these infested shoots did not die 
and fall ofif, but merely curled up, sometimes assuming a deeper green than 
the healthy leaves on the same stalk. At the approach of winter, the infested 
leaves remained firmly attached to the diseased stems ; and all through the cold 
weather, and far into the spring, these leaf-laden and diseased stems were a con- 
spicuous object in many of the blackberry plantations of this State. 

" If the infested shoots are examined in summer, thousands of minute insects, of 
a pale yellow color, and covered with a powdery exudation, will be found sucking 
the juices of the succulent stem and leaves, causing the crimping, curling, and twist- 
ing of these parts as described. 

" This parasite resembles somewhat an ordinary gx&en-^y ( Aphis ) or plant-louse ; 
but, according to the observations of Professor Riley, it belongs to the closely allied 
Flea-lice family (FsyHidce), distinguished from the plant-lice by a different veining 
of the wings, and by the antennae being knobbed at the tip, like those of the 
butterfly, the knob usually terminating in two bristles. These insects jump as 



Raspberries and Blaekberries. 241 

briskly as a flea, from which characteristic they derive their scientiiic name. The 
particular species in question was called by Professor Riley the ' Bramble- Flea-louse 
(Psylla rubi* )^ in the American Entomologist (Vol. I., p. 225). It has increased 
rapidly during the past half dozen years or more, and unless fruit growers make a more 
vigorous fight than they have yet done, it will soon get the mastery of many black- 
berry plantations. The only practical method as yet discovered for checking the 
ravages of this insect, is, to cut off the ends of the infested canes and burn them. 
This operation should always be performed either in the morning or during cool, 
wet weather, else many of the insects will escape ; and at all times the severed 
shoots should be immediately dropped into bags, and in them carried to the place 
where they are to be burned, and there emptied into the fire. If every one having 
blackberry bushes in their gardens would practice this method of destruction, this 
pest would soon cease to do much harm." 

There are species of borers and gall insects that attack these two 
fruits, but as yet they have not become formidable. All infested canes 
should be cut out and burned with their contents, or else the pests may so 
increase as to cause much injury. 

The larvae of the Sclandria ritbi, an insect nearly related to the 
imported currant worm, and known as the raspberry saw-fly, is 
destructive in some regions. It is semi-transparent, and so like the foliage 
in color that it could scarcely be detected, did not the ragged, perforated 
leaves indicate both its presence and its mischief. This worm measures 
half an inch in length, when fully developed. It has two black eyes — like 
spots, upon a green head, and usually a slightly fuzzy body. The remedies 
recommended are the same as those used against the currant worm. I 
have had no experience with this pest. 

The Orange-rust (Uredo rubrum) is one of the worst of foes to both 
the blackberry and raspberry; the Rubus Occidentalis, or black-cap family, 
suffering the most, usually. I have seen fields of the Early Wilson and 
Kittatinny blackberries, in New Jersey, that presented a melancholy 
appearance. It is believed to be very contagious, and it can be spread 
by both trimmer and pickers. Mr. Chas. A. Green, of Monroe county, 
N. Y., writes : " The end plant of a row in my garden was affected, and I 
let it remain, as an experiment. In three years, nearly every plant in the 
row was more or less diseased. We have tried picking the leaves and 
cutting back the canes, without relief, and have found that the only safe 
method is to dig out and destroy all affected plants without delay." Mr. 
Fuller says that, " appHcation of lime, salt, or some similar substance, may 
check the disease ; but I know of no remedy except that of rooting up 

* " It cannot be distinguished from Psylla tripunctata, Fitch (Catalogue of Homoptera, etc.), and, what is most singular, 
the same species is very common on pine-trees all over the eastern part of the continent, from Florida to Canada." 



242 Success with Small Fruits. 

every affected plant, and burning it." Mr. Downing recommends the 
same course. It is one of those evils that should be stamped out at once. 
If a plantation were generally affected with this yellow symbol of 
contagion, it would be well to destroy all the plants, and, obtaining new, 
healthful stock from a distance, start again on different grounds. Should 
the snowy tree-cricket become very abundant, it might cause much injury, 
chiefly by cutting off the leaves, as the ordinary cut-worm serves the 
stem of a young plant. 



CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. 

We have not only imported our best currants from Europe, but 
also their worst enemies. The most formidable of these is popularly 
known as the currant worm. Robert Thompson, the English authority, 
thus describes it : " The magpie- moth (abraxas grossulariata) deposits 
its eggs upon the foliage, and from them is hatched a slightly hairy 
cream- colored caterpillar, spotted with black, and marked with orange 
along the sides, and which forms a loop in walking. It feeds 
upon the leaves, devouring all but the petiole, and often entirely defoli- 
ating both gooseberry and currant bushes. It changes into a pupa in 
May or June, and in about three weeks afterward, the perfect insect makes 
its appearance." Very naturally, this currant worm made its debut near 
Rochester, N. Y., a great fruit center, receiving annually large importa- 
tions of plants. Its first appearance was in 1857. ^^r illustration, see 
page 243. 

In England, the caterpillar of the PJialcBua-vanaria, a similar insect, 
is often destructive. Whether it has appeared among us yet, I am not 
informed. They fight it abroad as they do the ordinary worm. 

The gooseberry and currant saw-fly ( Nematus-ribesii), another pestif- 
erous foreigner, has made its appearance in some localities. 

We have, besides, a native saw-fly ( Pristiphera grossidarice), which 
resembles its European congener, and emulates it in mischief The larva 
of this fly feeds upon both the currant and the gooseberry, but prefers 
the latter. 

Nature is liberal, and has given us, in addition, a native gooseberry 
span-worm, the larva of a small moth. These several worms, unchecked, 
would soon render the culture of the currant and gooseberry impossible 
in the regions where they abounded; and, at first, horticulturists were 
almost in despair, for the pests seemed proof against the usual insecticides 



Currants and Gooseberries. 



243 




/// \ 'I1 







Currant Worm and Moth.— Cherry Currants. 



and means of destruction. It was eventually discovered that powdered 
white hellebore was a specific remedy. Usually, it is applied unmixed 
with other substances ; and pains should be taken to get a genuine article, 
or else it will not destroy the worms. 



244 Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

Mr. H. T. Jones, of Rochester, recommends the following : 

" To one pailful of wood ashes, add one quart each of white hellebore and flowers 
of sulphur ; mix thoroughly ; apply by sifting on the bushes while the dew is on 
them. I used nothing else on my plantation of over two acres last season, and want 
nothing better j but it must be used daily as long as any worms are seen." 

I have heard that, if applied in a liquid form, a heaping table-spoonful 
of hellebore to a gallon of water is a good proportion. 

At the meeting of the New Jersey Historical Society, it was stated by 
good authorities, as the result of actual experience, that tobacco dust would 
kill the worms as readily as hellebore. I hope this is true, since the latter 
is expensive when applied on a large scale, and the tobacco dust can be 
bought at from two dollars to three dollars per barrel. I shall try it next 
year. 

I also quote the following from a recent editorial by Mr. Fuller, in the 
New York Weekly Sun : 

" White hellebore has long been considered one of the most efficacious of all 
poisons for the imported currant worm, but a New Jersey fruit grower of considerable 
experience informed us not long ago, that he had found strong tobacco water quite 
as good as the hellebore, and it was also soon washed off by heavy rains, whereby 
the fruit was not rendered unfit for use, as when other and more virulent poisons 
are employed. To make a strong solution, put a half-bushel or bushel of tobacco 
stems, or even the leaves, into a cask or barrel, and press down and hold in place 
with a stone or other weight ; then pour on hot water enough to cover the tobacco, 
and leave it for a few days to steep. After steeping, the cask may be filled up with 
warm or cold water, and the solution is ready for use. If a half-pound or pound of 
crude potash is added, or a quart or two of soft soap is stirred in, the solution will be 
much improved, especially in its destructive properties. After using the first liquid, 
the barrels may be filled again with water, and left to steep a few days longer than 
the first time, or some fresh tobacco may be added, to give the solution the required 
strength. Tobacco water is certainly a cheap insecticide, and will frequently be 
found quite as efficacious as those that are more costly and troublesome to apply." 

A gentleman from Erie, Pa., writes to me that he has used this remedy 
for years, with complete success. 

Mr. J. McK. Beattie, of Pictou, Nova Scotia, has written to me of a 
still simpler method. 

" I notice in the April number of Scribner's Monthly that you intend to use 
tobacco dust to destroy the currant worms ; it will prove effectual ; but, as I can 
give you a far more simple plan, I take the liberty of writing. It is one which I have 
proved for the past seven years, and never have known it to fail wherever tried. 



Ctirrants and Gooseberries. 245 

" After digging about my bushes, and manuring in the spring, I cover the earth 
around the bushes with tobacco stems, and place a handful in the middle of the 
bush, and the work is done for the season. I found that when using the dust I had 
to renew it after every heavy rain, whereas the stems did not need renewing, unless 
it was a very wet season, and then, if any worms appeared, a handful of fresh stems 
scattered through the bushes made them disappear. 

" The stems have several advantages : they are cheaper than dust ; they serve as 
a mulch to keep the ground off the fruit, and when dug in about the bush, they 
make an excellent manure. I think if you once gave them a fair trial you would 
never be tempted to try any other method. 

" Last year, stems were very scarce here, and I could not get enough to mulch 
all my bushes, so I only put a generous handful in the center of a good many 
bushes, and they were not troubled ; but I would not like to recommend that plan 
until I experimented further." 

For the past two years, the worm has attacked my bushes savagely ; 
but, as I am very fond of currants, and relish white, powdered sugar more 
than hellebore, I fought the pests successfully by hand-picking. I kept a 
boy, at moderate wages, whose business it was to kill insects and worms. 
He had a lively time of it occasionally, for Nature sometimes appeared to 
take sides with the pests. 

The cautious use of lime and salt around and under the bushes might 
prove beneficial, since the worm descends into the soil before changing into 
a pupa. 

The currant and gooseberry are also infested with several species of 
plant-lice. A gentleman whose bushes were attacked by lice and the 
currant worm at the same time, wrote to the Country Gentleman that he 
destroyed both by a strong decoction of white hellebore, applied from 
a fine rose-sprinkling can. The bushes were turned back and forth, so 
as to get the solution on the under side of the leaves. The writer 
concludes : 

" The decoction of hellebore must be strong to be effectual. I make it as 
follows : To a gallon of boiling water add a table-spoonful of pulverized hellebore. 
After standing fifteen or twenty minutes, add three gallons of common soapsuds. 
When cool, apply with a sprinkler. I do not know that there is any virtue in the 
soapsuds, excepting it makes the solution stick to the leaves." 

There are three species of currant borers with unpronounceable 
names. Their presence is shown by yellow foliage and withering 
fruit in summer, and by brown, shriveled branches in winter. Cutting 
out and burning are the only remedy. Usually, a vigorous bush will 
outgrow the attacks of this enemy ; and good cultivation gives vigor, and 



246 Success with Small Fruits. 

also disturbs and brings to the surface the worms that have entered the 
soil to undergo their transformation. From first to last, tonic treatment 
supplements and renders more effective our direct efforts to destroy 
diseases and enemies. 

Most earnestly would I urge caution in using all virulent poisons 
like Paris green, London purple, hellebore, etc. 

Whenever it is possible to substitute a less poisonous substance, 
do so by all means. Some good people regard tobacco as the bane 
of banes ; but to many it does not cause the feeling of repugnance and 
fear inspired by hellebore and more poisonous insecticides. Let all such 
articles be kept under lock and key ; and one person should have charge 
of their use, and be held responsible for them. Moreover, any water- 
ing-can used with Paris green and like substances should be marked 
with the word Poison, in large letters. If insecticides are used in the 
form of a powder, great care should be exercised to keep it from falling 
on other vegetation or fruit that might be eaten by man or beast. I 
have known of pigs and horses dying from eating herbage on which Paris 
green had blown from a potato field. London purple, which, as a 
cheaper and equally effective article, is taking the place of Paris green, 
must be used with the same caution, since it is a compound of arsenic, 
and equally poisonous. 

It is my wish and intention to experiment carefully with the various 
means and methods of coping with the diseases and enemies of small 
fruits, and to give this chapter frequent revisions. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



PICKING AND MARKETING. 



IN the proceedings of the New Jersey State Horticultural Society, I find 
the following interesting paper from the pen of Mr. C. W. Idell, a 
commission merchant, whose intelligent interest in fruits extends beyond 
their current price. He gives so graphic a picture of the diminutive 
beginning of small fruit growing and marketing, that I am led to quote 
freely : " About the earliest knowledge I could obtain of the strawberry 
in our State is that it first grew wild in many regions, particularly in 
the county of Bergen. The negroes were the first to pick this fruit for 
the New York market, and invented those quaint, old-fashioned splint 
baskets, with handles that were and are still in use in that county. These 
berries were taken to New York, the baskets being strung on poles, and 
thus peddled through the city. I would state, for the benefit of those who 
have not seen these baskets, that it was the intention of the original 
makers of them to have them contain a half-pint each, but soon they 
became so reduced in size that each buyer was compelled to guess at the 
contents of those he bought. 

"Just when cultivated berries made their appearance, I am unable to 
say, but I am inclined to think they were derived from seedlings of the wild 
fruit. From the information I have gathered, I think that the cultivation 
of the fruit for the market originated in the vicinity of Hackensack, 
Bergen county, and from there spread over the State. As there were 
no railroads in that section at that early date, all the berries had to be 
carted to New York in wagons, crossing the Hudson at Hoboken. Quite 



24B Success zvith Squall Fruits. 

recently, I met with Mr. Andrew M. Hopper, of Pascack, who gave me 
several interesting points from his early recollections. 

"Mr. Hopper said: * I am sixty-five years old, and can well remember 
picking berries for my father, when a boy ten years of age. At that time 
we had no crates as we have now, but packed them in large baskets that 
we called hampers. 

" * Our only shipping point to New York was Piermont, on the Hudson, 
New York State, a distance of about eight miles. 

" 'At this point there was a line of sloops that sailed semi-weekly, 
when wind and tide permitted. In those days, there were no commission 
merchants in New York that dealt in berries, and each farmer was compelled 
to go with and sell his own fruit. The fare on these vessels was one 
shilling for a round trip, board not included ; and as it sometimes 
required two days to reach the city, each farmer provided a lunch for 
himself before starting for home, as well as provender for his team, which 
was left at the landing to await his return. The usual fee for caring for 
the team while they were gone was twenty-five cents.' 

"The Hautbois was the first named variety he could remember, which 
was introduced among them in 1835. In about 1840, the Scotch Runner 
was introduced at Hackensack. It was a valuable variety for the growers, 
as it was hardy, a good bearer, and the fruit grew unusually large for that 
period. An incident connected with the introduction of this variety is 
worth mentioning, showing the eagerness of the cultivators to procure the 
plants. 

" A gentleman living at ' Old Bridge,' which is a few miles above 
Hackensack, secured quite a number of plants, and set them out in his 
garden for the purpose of propagating them, so that he could in due time 
plant a large patch of them. The vines being in great demand, his 
neighbors insisted upon his selling them ; but this proposition he 
positively refused, and the consequence was that, one night, some person 
entered his garden and stole every plant he had. At this period, and up 
to the introduction of the Wilson, all strawberries in that section were 
picked and marketed without the hulls. 

"For a long time, I have been trying to find out the originator of the 
quart berry box and crate, and, thinking Mr. Hopper might possess some 
knowledge on this point, I inquired of him. He replied : ' I know 
nothing about the quart box, for I never used them, but I do about the 
crate. 

" 'In 1840, I made the first crate ever used in our section, if not in the 
State, and I will tell you how I came to do it. In those days, I raised 



Picking and Marketing. 249 

large quantities of apricots, and marketed them in such baskets as we hap- 
pened to have. In the year named, my fruit was very large and finely 
colored, and, knowing they would be damaged by carting in the usual 
way, I had a number of small baskets made, and then I constructed a 
crate to fit them. The next day after I made them, General Acker, who 
was an old fruit grower, called on me, admired the arrangement, and 
suggested that they would answer to pack berries in, and requested me to 
make two for him, which I did. From these, the use of them became 
general.' 

" The cases referred to were skeleton cases, some with and others 
without lids, each grower making them to suit his own convenience for 
handling; but they generally contained from one to two hundred baskets 
each. The number of baskets in each was marked either on the lid or 
slat." 

From the above quotation, the reader can realize what vast changes 
have taken place within the last fifty years. A few sable peddlers, with 
little baskets strung on poles, form a decided contrast with a Charleston 
steamer, bringing in one trip North far more strawberries, in patent refrig- 
erators, than were then sold in a year ; or with an Old Dominion steamship, 
discharging six thousand bushels as a single item of cargo. Ninety-four 
car-loads of strawberries have passed over the Delaware railroad in one 
day. According to one computation already given, New York consumes 
$25,000,000 worth of small fruits annually. If the business has grown to 
such proportions within the last half century, may we not expect even 
greater increase in the future ? The appliances for preserving fruit, 
and for transporting it quickly and safely, become more perfect every 
year. Thus, a market is created in vast regions, which, though populous, 
are not adapted to the raising of fruit. 

The modern conditions of marketing fruit are just the reverse of those 
described by Mr. Idell. Then, the berries, both in size and quantity, were 
small; but the labor and difficulty in reaching the consumer were immense. 
Now, strawberries that in size resemble tomatoes can be forwarded by the 
ship and car-load, with brief, printed labels, and the commission merchant 
sells for his correspondent, who may reside hundreds of miles away, and 
for years never follow his fruits to their market. Our chief ground for 
.solicitude is success in finding a commission house able to dispose of our 
fruit promptly at current rates, and sufficiently honest to make exact 
returns at the end of each week. There are many who do this, and not a 
few who do not. If one has not satisfactory business acquaintance in the 
city, I suggest that they learn from their neighbors who have been in the 
32 



250 Success with Small Fruits. 

habit of shipping produce, the names of merchants that uniformly have 
made the best returns. Moreover, it is often well, if one has considerable 
fruit, to ship to two or more parties, and compare prices. The homely 
proverb hinting that it is not wise to put all our eggs in one basket, is 
sound. 



FRUIT PACKAGES. 

After some years of experience and observation, I am led to market 
my strawberries in square, quart baskets, and round pints, and raspber- 
ries in half-pints ; although pints answer equally well for a firm raspberry, 
like the Cuthbert or Brandywine. 

If I were shipping long distances, I would prefer baskets of which the 
round Beecher quarts and pints are the types. Such packages occupy too 
much space, however, to be forwarded in refrigerators. I think berries 
remain in good condition longer in this circular, open basket than in any 
other. Of the crate, it is sufficient to say that it should be light, 
strong, and so constructed as to permit free circulation of air. Few of the 
square " quart baskets " hold a quart. Indeed, there are but few honest 
baskets in the market; and the fact has come to be so well recognized that 
they are now sold by the "basket," the majority being aware that they are 
simply packages of fruit. I think there should be a change in this respect, 
and that the several packages should hold a full quart, pint, etc. Square 
quarts fill a crate compactly, requiring the least amount of space ; there is 
no chance for the baskets to upset, and when the crate is opened, there is 
a continuous surface of fruit, which is very attractive. Very large, showy 
strawberries appear best, however, in round baskets. If my market were 
a near one, I would plan to dispose of the bulk of my crop in round pints, 
since they could be used for 'strawberries, the firmer raspberries, and 
blackberries. Thus one stock and style of baskets would last throughout 
the whole season. 

A little good taste bestowed upon the appearance of a fruit package 
often adds several cents per pound or quart to the price received, and thus 
it comes that the brand of certain growers is sought after in the market. 
A few green leaves, judiciously placed, cost nothing, but may catch the 
eye and secure a fancy price. 

After much inquiry in the market, however, I am led to the conclusion 
that the size, quality, and appearance of the fruit count for far more than 
all other considerations combined. 



Fruit Packages. 



251 



The old Marlboro' thirds (see illustration), still largely in use on the 
Hudson, should be superseded as soon as possible by baskets that per- 
mit circulation of air. The artist has suggested a style of packages of 
which we are in need — boxes cheap enough to be given away with the 







Marlboro' Thirds. 




Sunnyside Fruit-Box. 



fruit. The drawing is of a style called the " Sunnyside fruit-box," and can 
be obtained for about $io per i,ooo. The purchaser sees a pretty box of 
fruit at a shop, buys and takes it with him, and is at no trouble to return 
the box. The present frequent practice of pouring the fruit into brown 
paper bags is villainous. 

Mr. J. T. Budd, of Wilmington, Del., in a sensible letter, gives several 
excellent reasons why it would be better, and, in the end, cheaper, to use 
such cheap crates and baskets that one could afford to let them go with 
the fruit. The expenses of transportation would thus be reduced, and the 
prices of the berries enhanced, not only because the purchaser would not 
be to the trouble of returning packages, but chiefly for the reason that the 
fruit would always appear in fresh, new baskets, instead of those soiled, and 
often musty, from long use. Mr. Budd shows that, in Delaware, crates and 
baskets could be made sufficiently cheap for this practice. 



PICKING. 



Having procured the baskets which suit us best, the next thing is to 
fill them properly, and get them into market looking fresh and attractive. 
It is just at this point that very many wrong themselves, or permit them- 
selves to be wronged. The time is past when all strawberries will sell as 



252 Success with Small Fruits. 

such, at so much per quart. Appearance often doubles the price, or makes 
it difficult to sell the fruit at all. Soiled, muddy berries, even though large, 
will fetch but wretched prices; therefore the importance of mulching. The 
fruit may be in beautiful condition upon the vines and yet be spoiled by 
careless picking. The work is often performed by children, or by those 
who have had no experience, or who, from inherent shiftlessness, do 
everything in the worst possible way. I have seen beautiful berries that 
in their brief transit through grimy hands lost half their value. Many 
pickers will lay hold of the soft berry itself and pinch it as they pull it off; 
then, instead of dropping it into the basket, they will hold it in the hand 
as they pick others, and as the hand grows fuller, will squeeze them 
tighter, and when, at last, the half-crushed handful is dropped into the 
basket, the berries are almost ruined for market purposes. Not for $10 
per day would I permit such a person to pick for me, for he not only 
takes fifty per cent, from the price of the fruit, but gives my brand a bad 
reputation. If possible, the grower should carefully select his pickers, 
and have them subscribe to a few plain rules, like the following : 

1. Each berry must be picked with the thumb and fore-finger nails, and not 
held in the hand but dropped into the basket at once. 

2. No green, decayed, or muddy berries will be received. 

3. There must be no getting down upon all fours in the beds, thus crushing 
both green and ripe fruit. 

4. There must be no " topping off" with large berries, but the fruit must be 
equally good all through the basket. 

In the early pickings of Wilsons, when many of the berries are of good 
size, and of all the large, choice kinds, it is best to make two grades, 
putting the large and small by themselves, and keeping varieties separate. 
A small frame, with short legs at the corners, and a handle, is a convenient 
appliance to hold six or more baskets while picking. Give to each picker 
two sets of baskets, one for the small and one for the large berries, and 
pay equally for both, or perhaps a little more for the small ones, so that 
there may be no motive to thwart your purpose ; one and a half to two 
cents per quart is the usual price. Have two styles of tickets, red and 
blue, for instance ; the red having a higher value and being given to those 
who bring the berries to the place of packing in good order, according to 
rule ; let the baskets not picked in conformity to the rules be receipted for 
with the blue tickets. Receiving many of the latter soon becomes a kind 
of disgrace, and thus you appeal to the principle of self-respect as well 
as self-interest. Get rid of those who persist in careless picking as soon 



Picking. 253 

as possible. Insist that the baskets be full and rounded up, and the fruit 
equal in quality down to the bottom. As far as possible, let the hulls be 
down, out of sight, and only the fruit showing. If you have berries that 
are extra fine, it will pay you to pick and pack them yourself, or have 
some one to do it who can be depended upon. Do not pick the fruit, if 
you can help it, when it is wet with dew or rain ; still, there are times 
when this must be done to save it. Never let the baskets or crates stand 
long in the sun and wind, as the berries so treated soon become dull and 
faded. As soon as a crate is filled, put it under cover in a cool place 
till shipped to market. As far as possible, insist upon careful, gentle 
handling. 

Raspberries should be treated with even greater care than strawberries, 
since they are softer and more perishable. They should never be put 
into anything larger than a pint basket, while thirds of a quart and half- 
pints are much better. Round half-pints seem to be coming into 
favor. There is a wide, shallow basket made in Rochester, that some 
growers think highly of With most varieties of raspberries, if any con- 
siderable number are placed together they soon become a soft, moldy 
mass. The ideal raspberry basket, therefore, is small, open, and shallow ; 
and the crates should permit free circulation. Pick the fruit when dry, 
and as soon as it is ripe, as over- ripe berries decay quickly. Keep 
varieties by themselves. Mr. Parry says that raspberries will pay at ten 
cents per quart, but the margin of profit will be small. They usually sell 
at much higher figures. Black-caps, of late years, have scarcely brought 
paying prices in New York market. The following statement shows what 
a difference variety, and therefore quality, makes in the same market. 
On the 7th day of July, 1871, raspberries were sold at wholesale, in 
Philadelphia, as follows, viz. : 

Black-cap 5 cents per quart. 

Philadelphia 8 do. 

Pearl 16 do. 

Susqueco, or Brandywine 30 do. 

Hornet 60 do. 

Blackberries sell well in both quart and pint baskets, but if one is send- 
ing a long distance, pints will carry the fruit in better condition. 

One of the best methods of shipping currants is to have tills, or shallow 
boxes, two or three in number, fitting in one's berry crates, which can thus 
be made to serve a double purpose. Mark on these tills the net weight of 
the fruit. For large, Cherry currants, quart and verbena baskets are often 



254 Success with Small Fndts. 

used. Many like a long market basket, holding about 25 pounds, while 
those who raise grapes often make the same shallow boxes answer for both. 

Gooseberries are shipped in all kinds of packages, from barrels to quart 
boxes. I prefer a crate with tills, for both gooseberries and currants. 
These two fruits, especially the latter, are becoming increasingly profitable 
every year. 

In summing up, it may be briefly stated that with all fruits, and in all 
the large markets, beauty, size and good keeping qualities are the points 
which are chiefly considered. Very few know much about the names of 
varieties, but eagerly purchase that which appears the most attractive. 
The grower who can make his crates of berries, when opened, look better 
than others near, will always receive good prices. If he tops off poor 
fruit with large berries, he will scarcely find a market eventually. If he 
always fills his baskets well and honestly, and gives good weight, taking 
pains to make his packages appear attractive, his fruit will soon be in much 
demand and spoken for in advance. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



IRRIGATION. 



THIS is a topic on which a book might be written. The reader will 
draw a sigh of relief, however, on learning that I shall content myself 
with giving a few facts and suggestions, since I am well aware that, in spite 
of its title, this chapter will be dry to many. 

The first rays that fall from the lamp of history reveal vast systems of 
irrigation in full operation. In many parts of the globe, artificial watering 
is absolutely essential, and there are few agricultural regions which might 
not be rendered far more productive if the supply of moisture could be 
regulated in accordance with the needs of each crop. 

The question, as we shall consider it, is a practical one. In California 
and other sections, the land must be irrigated ; here, and wherever the 
rain-fall is more equally distributed throughout the year, we can water if 
we find the practice remunerative. 

The increased yield from the proper application of water is often 
marvelous. Mr. James Neilson, in a paper read before the New Jersey 
State Board, of Agriculture, gives some interesting facts observed abroad. 
In regions along the Cavour Canal, the people were able to mow in 
one season six heavy burdens of grass, and in the vicinity of Edinburgh, 
by the use of sewage water, five or six crops of grass annually. In 
Belgium, " sandy, barren land (resembling the pine barrens of New Jersey) 
was put into profitable cultivation when it could be irrigated." The plain 
of Gennevilliers, near Paris, seemed utterly worthless for cultivation. It 
consisted almost wholly of coarse gravel, and bore no rent. No land- 
owner would make any effort to use water, so the city of Paris bought about 



256 Success with Small Fruits. 

twenty-five acres and turned upon it part of the sewage. It now rents 
for nearly $50 per acre, with sewage suppHed. In parts of Spain, land is 
worth $2,500 irrigated, and but $125 without the privilege of water. 

The enormous and long-continued crops of strawberries raised in 
California prove that water is equally effective in our new land, where the 
climate is similar, as in the older countries. Will irrigation pay in our 
latitude, where we hope for seasonable rains ? I think that in many 
sections it will, and occasionally I hear of remarkable results obtained by the 
free use of water. In one instance, a gravelly hill-side, almost worthless 
for ordinary cultivation, became the wonder of the neighborhood, so large 
were the crops of strawberries secured by irrigation. 

Mr. Chas. W. Garfield, Secretary of the Michigan State Pomological 
Society, gives an interesting account of his visit to Mr. Dunkley, a success- 
ful gardener, at Kalamazoo : " A force," he writes, " were picking 
strawberries from rows of vigorous plants, and as we opened the vines in 
advance of the pickers, a more delightful strawberry prospect we had 
never seen. The varieties were Monarch, Seneca Chief and Wilson, and, 
under the system of irrigation employed, they were just prime for market 
after all the other berries in the vicinity had ripened and were gone. Very 
remunerative prices were thus secured. His vines were vigorous, and 
independent of the rains. Every berry that set, reached perfection in size 
and form." The abundant moisture greatly increases the size of the fruit, 
but retards the ripening. When the fruit has reached the proper stage for 
maturity, the water is withheld, and then the berries ripen fast, but in their 
perfect development are firm, and are shielded from the sun by the luxu- 
riant foliage. " We water," said Mr. Dunkley, "only to supplement the 
rain. If the season is wet, we employ our artificial system but little, or 
not at all, and in such seasons get no profit from our investments ; but 
generally, sometime during a season there is a drought that shortens some 
crop; then we irrigate, and have the advantage of neighboring gardeners." 

This statement suggests the practical question, Do droughts or dry 
seasons occur with sufficient frequency to warrant the outlay required for 
irrigation ? In a very interesting paper read before the Massachusetts 
Horticultural Society, Mr. W. D. Philbrick gives much information on the 
subject of artificial watering, and its need in our latitude and section, and I 
quote from him freely : 

" The amount of water required will depend largely on the rain-fall, velocity of 
the wind, atmospheric humidity, soil, etc. A loose; sandy soil will require much 
more water than a retentive clay. In general, however, it may be assumed that in 



Irrigation. 257 

the warm, growing months of May, June, July, August and September, most vegeta- 
tion requires an inch in depth over the entire surface of the land every five days. 
This is, of course, only an average. This quantity, estimated as needed by our 
gardens, would be equivalent to six inches per month of rain-fall. If we compare 
this amount with the actual rain-fall, we shall arrive at an idea of what is to be 
supplied artificially. 

•'The rain-fall at Boston for the past six years (to 1878), for the five growing 
months named, varies from a maximum of lo^^ inches, in August, 1872, to a mini- 
mum of 0.65 inch, in June, 1873. During these six years there was not a single 
season when we did not suffer more or less from drought during some portion of the 
summer. Twenty-one of the thirty months in question had less rain-fall than six 
inches per month, and the average of these twenty-one months was about 3.02 inches 
per month, or only about half of what was needed. Some of the protracted seasons 
of drought were almost entirely rainless for six weeks, during which the weather 
was excessively hot and windy, and vegetation suffered extremely in consequence." 

Mr. Philbrick estimates that 27,000 gallons, or 108 tons, of water are 
needed per acre at each watering, which, in a dry period, should be 
repeated every five days. This enormous quantity leads him to suggest 
that " before embarking in an enterprise of irrigation, it would be best to 
make sure that the source can be depended upon for a sufficient supply of 
water in the driest seasons ; for, it is precisely at such times that the most 
water is needed. Ordinary springs and wells, therefore, are entirely inade- 
quate to furnish water for anything more than a small patch or garden. 
The only sources to be depended upon for large areas are unfailing 
streams, lakes and ponds. There are few gardens so favorably situated 
that the water can be drawn from canals and ditches directly from some 
pond or stream. When this can be done, it is by far the cheapest 
method ; and it is in this way that the extensive irrigating works of Lom- 
bardy, Spain, France, California, and Colorado are constructed. Where 
this system is adopted, considerable expense is required to grade the land 
into inclined beds, so as to distribute the water easily and evenly ; but, 
once done, the water is applied at a very trifling cost — so cheaply that it 
is used for farm crops in Lombardy and the South of France." 

In most instances, however, our land is so located that we cannot 
irrigate it by a natural flow and fall of water. In this case, it may be 
distributed by water-carts and by hand. This can be done only on a very 
small scale. The cost in time and labor would be much too great for 
profitable returns, and the ground would be so beaten and trampled as to 
cause much injury. Such methods may answer very well for small and 
well-mulched fruit gardens, making the home supply certain and large, 
but it is inadequate from a business point of view. Distributing water 



258 Success with Small Fniits. 

through pipes laid underground, beneath the plow, does not work well at 
all, practically, and is not in accordance with nature. Most of the water 
is wasted. 

"The only method," continues Mr. Philbrick, "of distributing water 
much used in gardens, where pumping is practiced, is the system of iron 
pipes laid underground with hydrants distant 200 feet asunder, from 
which the water is distributed by 100 feet of India rubber hose. This is 
also the plan adopted by gardeners who make use of the public water 
supply." When practicable, such iron pipes should be carried along ridges 
and headlands, so as to let the water flow where we wish it by gravity as 
far as possible. 

"Where the water has to be distributed by hose and sprinkler, it will 
be found good economy to use a powerful pump that will give a head of 
at least thirty feet, and to use for distribution pipes of not less than one 
and a half inches in diameter; provided, of course, that any considerable area 
— an acre or more — is to be watered. Thus, for example, we will suppose 
that it is required to water five acres of land, and that we have near by a 
never-failing pond or river ; we can locate a steam pump near the river, 
and, while at work watering, we load the safety-valve upon the delivering 
water pipe at fifteen pounds per square inch, which corresponds to a head 
of about thirty feet of water. We have 300 feet of iron pipe, two inches 
in diameter, and 100 feet of India rubber hose, one and a half inches in 
diameter, for the delivery of the water. This apparatus would be capable 
of delivering 45 gallons per minute, or 27,000 gallons per day of ten 
hours — enough for the thorough wetting of one acre per day, or every acre 
of the five once in five days ; by running nights, ten acres could be watered. 

"When only a limited area is to be watered, — less than an acre, — the 
wind-mill furnishes a cheaper source of power than the steam pump. To 
make it available, large storage of water must be provided at a high level, 
so that the mill may work during stormy weather and store the water 
until needed. A wind-mill, costing with pump and tank about $500, will 
furnish water enough for one or two acres of land, provided storage can 
be provided for 200,000 gallons of water. To provide this storage might 
cost as much as a steam pump. Where elevated reservoirs can easily be 
made, and the amount of water needed is not over 10,000 gallons daily, 
the wind-mill is, without doubt, cheaper power than steam." 

Mr. Philbrick shows conclusively that where a gardener pays at the 
rate of twenty-five cents per 1,000 gallons, or even much less, only crops 
approaching $1,000 per acre in value will warrant the outlay. When 
land can be easily graded, and irrigated through canals and ditches, the 



Irrigation. 



259 



yearly cost has been reduced, in some cases, as low as from one to three 
dollars per acre per year. 

" Wherever drainage is not perfect, it must be made so before irriga- 




W'aterm^ Plants in the Twilight. 



^>\ 



I A 



The Monarch uf the West Strawberry. 



tion can be safely practiced; 
otherwise, if a heavy fall of 
rain should occur just after application 
of water, the plants might suffer seri- 
ously from being too wet." 

In the discussion which followed 
the reading of this paper, Mr. John B. 
Moore said, among other things : " No crop takes the moisture out of 
the soil more quickly than strawberries, and, for these and other crops 
which soon suffer from dryness, he lets the water run down the rows all 
night from half a dozen large pipes." 

Hon. Marshall T. Wilder then remarked that "the secret how Mr. 
Moore produced his large strawberries had now come out." 

(In a letter recently received, Mr. Moore further states : " In the 
garden, I have had the best results where I have let the water run out of 



26o Success zvith Small Fniits. 

open hose between the rows of raspberries, strawberries, etc., always making 
it a rule to wet the ground thoroughly, and then stop, and not apply 
any more until there is good evidence of the soil needing it again. A 
constant drizzle is detrimental to vegetation.") 

Mr. W. C. Strong said that the " even distribution of water was very 
important ; otherwise, the ground became sodden in places, and other parts 
received no benefit. He thought that considerable part of the benefit of 
irrigation arose from showering the foliage, especially at night, as in a 
green-house." 

Mr. Philbrick said that he applied water in sunshine sometimes, but 
that in general he did not like to do so. (I would caution the reader to be 
very careful about wetting foliage under a hot sun, as it often causes both 
leaves and fruit to scald. I once lost a crop of gooseberries through a 
midday shower, followed by a hot afternoon.) 

Mr. E. P. Richardson had found a hose perforated with holes an 
eighth of an inch in diameter, and about three or four inches apart, very 
convenient for applying water. It can be laid anywhere in a straight or 
crooked line, and under plants whose leaves are injured by watering in the 
bright sun. Such a hose may be left for hours without attention. 

In the garden at Kalamazoo, already referred to, the water was 
obtained by damming up a spring. " The water was conveyed in a 
wooden conduit, made of two-inch plank, and rendered water-tight by coal 
tar." The whole apparatus was very inexpensive, and proves that in many 
instances the ingenious and enterprising horticulturist can work out a 
simple system of his own that, at slight cost, will answer his purpose. 

This chapter aims at little more than to put the reader on the right 
track for further investigation, and to suggest a few of the first principles 
and requirements of irrigation. The great majority have little realization 
of the amount of water required, and very often much loss is incurred and 
injury caused by attempting artificial watering with an insufficient supply. 
Mr. Dunkley, at Kalamazoo, started with a wind-mill, but found it wholly 
inadequate. Partial watering is worse than useless. By liberal mulching, 
very much less water is required, and much longer intervals between 
irrigation may elapse. 

If one designs to undertake irrigation upon a large scale, he should 
employ the services of an expert, and "make haste slowly." At the same 
time, many fruit farms are so located, or might be, that a laborer with a 
pick and shovel could solve the problem of an abundant supply of water. 

When unfailing moisture can be maintained, and plants are not permit- 
ted to bear in June, nor to make runners, almost a full crop may be 
obtained in the autumn. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



SUGGESTIVE EXPERIENCES FROM WIDELY SEPARATED LOCALITIES. 



IT is often said that there is no teaching Hke experience, and in view of 
this sound principle I am led to quote from a few of the letters that I 
have received. These statements, from successful and intelligent culti- 
vators, throw side lights on the preceding pages from various stand-points. 
I would advise the reader to note carefully the adaptation of different 
varieties to different parts of the country. As we have just been discuss- 
ing the subject of irrigation, I will first quote from California letters, since 
they touch on this topic. 

From Mr. James Shinn's interesting communication, I take the following 
facts : 

" NiLES, Alameda Co., Cal. 

" The greater part of the strawberries consumed in San Francisco are grown 
in the neighborhood of San Jose, some fifty miles south of the city. We are situated 
about half-way between, in the great valley that borders the bay of San Francisco. 
We have occupied this place over twenty years, and have made observations upon 
the culture of small fruits, and have always grown more or less ourselves. While, 
therefore, I do not claim to be authority on the points you inquire about, I feel 
pretty safe in mentioning one or two things in this connection, that I can hardly be 
mistaken about : 

'■'■ First — Those who plant extensively for market make it a sine qua non to 
have at hand plenty of water ; except in very favored localities, they can't be grown 
to profit without this essential. I know that the plants are planted on each side of 
a small ridge, previously thrown up for the purpose. The vines along the ridge 
stand twelve to fifteen inches apart. The space between the ridges allows three and 



262 Success with Small Fruits. 

a half feet for cultivation and water. The water is allowed to run between these 
ridges, and, of course, wets the roots effectually. It will be perceived that the 
ground must be nearly level. I cannot tell how often these rows are watered, 
but frequently. The proper season for planting is as early in the winter as the 
ground can be put in order — from November ist, all winter — the earlier the better. 
If planted early, a fair crop of berries may be expected the next summer. For many 
years, the Longworth's Prolific and Peabody Seedhng were the varieties generally 
grown. Recently, some other varieties have been introduced, but are mostly con- 
fined to the hands of amateurs. The Monarch of the West has, however, certainly 
secured a strong foothold among the large growers. This berry commanded a 
much larger price in the market than the old varieties. I just remark respecting 
irrigadon, that, of course, as you will see, the object of planting upon ridges is to 
place the vines so high that when the water is let in, the berries will be above its 
reach. Nearly all our large growers let their fields to Chinamen, who do all the 
work, boarding themselves, for half the net proceeds." 

"San Jose, Cal. 

" In answer to your letter, asking about irrigation, I would state that in the first 

place, we grade the land, after first plowing and harrowing it. We do not like to do 

too much grading. If the land is very uneven, we make the rows conform to it, 

bringing the water on the highest portions, and cutting escape ditches through the 

low parts, so that the water can run off readily. The rows are made three feet 

apart, and every alternate row is shoveled or plowed out to make a shallow ditch 

about three or four inches deep. Soil is thrown on or between the alternate rows, 

making the ground look like smaU beds. The plants are set in rows about six 

inches from the edge of the ditches. We are now ready for the water, which is 

nearly air taken from artesian wells. The first year, the plants do not require so 

much moisture ; but the second year, we water about once a week. We keep all 

runners cut off. 

J. H. Ogier." 



" Brown's Valley, Yuba Co., Cal. 

" My business is raising strawberries and blackberries for m.arket, which is 
eleven miles distant, and I send all my fruit by stage. I have experimented with 
all leading varieties, since Orange Judd introduced the Agriculturist, but succeed 
best with Triomphe de Gand, Longworth's Prolific, Jucunda and Colonel Cheney. 
The latter is rather soft to carry so far to market. I commence sending to market 
about the middle of April. About the middle of June, the Triomphe begins to 
ripen a second crop. Last year, they were the largest and finest berries I ever saw. 
In September, the Jucunda bears a third crop. From May until October, we 
depend entirely on irrigation. Our soil is red, stiff and heavy. I use abundantly 
well-rotted stable manure and barn-yard compost. I prepare by deep plowing, and 
then harrowing. I then go over the ground for the plants with Hexamer's 
pronged hoe, making the soil very fine. I set the plants two feet apart each way, 
and where each one is to grow, I work in a large shovelful of manure deeply and 



Suggestive Experiences. 263 

thoroughly. I give blackberries the same mode of culture, setting them three feet 
by eight. No winter protection is needed. In ordinary seasons, there are a few 
strawberries all winter long. Strawberries and blackberries are very productive, 
and enormous in size, but currants, gooseberries and red raspberries do not succeed 
in this region, the long and intensely hot and dry season being unfavorable. 

John Palmer." 

" New Castle, Cal. 

"The President Wilder is the finest flavored berry we have ever tasted, and it 
is the most attractive in color of all. The Jucunda does not do well on our light 
soil. The Monarch is splendid. We grow raspberries quite extensively, our 
climate and location being better adapted to them, perhaps, than any other part of 
California. The earliest berry with us is the Red Antwerp (probably the EngHsh). 
It is a week earlier than the Franconia. The Herstine is a fine berry every way, 
except as regards firmness. The cap varieties are inferior in'flavor here. 

C. M. SiLVA & Son." 

From other sources I learn that the Triomphe de Gand and Seth 
Boyden are among the chief favorites in California. 

Mr. Felix Gillet, Nevada City, Cal., author of an excellent little 
treatise on the culture of the strawberry in his region, says: "The row 
and hill system is certainly the best of all, especially to raise large, fine 
fruit. The rows should be two feet apart, or thirty-six inches if irrigating 
by running water in each row as it is done in California. The plants 
should be set, the large growing sorts two feet from each other in the 
row, the smaller ones from twelve to eighteen inches." 



"Austin, Texas. 

" I put in water-works, and it is the best investment I ever made. I supply 
Austin with vegetables the whole year round. It was very dry last year, but I 
loaded three wagons with vegetables every day. We watered twenty acres regu- 
larly, and will water thirty this year, I am making a large reservoir on a hill, which 
will be supplied from a large well through a six-inch pipe. I use Knowles's steam 
pump, 30 horse-power, capable of pumping 750,000 gallons daily. Of strawberries, 
the Kentucky Seedling can stand the most heat and drought. Crescent Seedling 
looks well here, also the Forest Rose. Raspberries, currants and gooseberries 
cannot be raised. We plant strawberries one foot apart in the row, and the rows 
are three feet apart. We mulch early in spring, and cultivate by horse-power after 
the bearing season is over. I regard cow manure, leaf mold, and bone flour as 
the best fertilizers, I consider fall, October or November, as the best time for 

planting. 

William Radam." 



264 Success with Small Fruits. 



" Palestine, Texas. 



. " The Charles Downing, Seth Boyden, and President Wilder have done well. 
The Charles Downing has flourished as though native and to the manner born. 
The Kentucky has done remarkably well; the Wilson not so well. Raspberries, 
on the whole, have done well, but currants and gooseberries will not survive. The 
strawberries have done better than I hoped. I have always looked upon the 
strawberry as a semi-aquatic plant, and this view has been strengthened by an 
account of a wonderful crop produced in this region by abundant and systematic 
watering. The great difficulty against which we have to contend is the prolonged 
summer, when, for weeks, the thermometer ranges from go'' to 95° in the shade. 
To this must be added spells of dry weather, lasting sometimes for six or eight con- 
secutive weeks in July, August, and September. 

D. S. H. Smith." 



" New Orleans, La. 

" Experienced cultivators prepare for strawberries by thorough plowing and 
subsoiling. We cultivate by subsoil plow, cultivator and hoe, with no stones to impede 
our work. The bearing season lasts about 90 days. I have had two full crops in 
the same season. The best time to plant is : ist, in August ; 2d, in December. The 
Wilson and Charles Downing do well. The black-cap raspberries succeed; the 
red raspberries are thus far a failure. Blackbemes do very well. 

D. M. Wiggins, 
Agricultural Editor N. O. Times" 

Mr. H. W. Lamb, of Colorado Springs, writes me that strawberries 
and the hardy red raspberries do well in his section. They regard sheep 
manure as one of the best fertilizers. 

Dr. Samuel Hape, of Atlanta, Ga., writes: 

" In reply to your favor, I would say that strawberries and blackberries do 
splendidly here, raspberries moderately and currants and gooseberries as exceptions; 
grapes finely. 

" Our soils are mostly loam, with some sand, and a clay subsoil. Bottom lands 
have the usual deposits of muck and partially decomposed vegetable matter. The 
damp, rich soil, of course, suits strawberries and blackberries ; though the latter 
grow wild to such perfection, and in such abundance, as to do away with cultivation 
almost entirely. The red raspberry does not succeed very well as a rule. While 
damp, under-drained soil and sandy loam are best for strawberries, the dry 
uplands have almost invariably produced well. As to fertilizers, well-decomposed 
stable manure and bone meal have done the best with us. 

" No winter protection is needed. The fall, with us, is the best season to trans- 
plant strawberries, by all odds ; as soon as the September rains set in. 

Dr. Samuel Hape." 



Suggestive Experiences. 265 

"Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 23, 1878. 

" With pleasure, I answer your questions to the best of my ability. i . What 
varieties of small fruits do best in your locality ? Strawberries and blackberries do 
well, but owing to the abundance of wild fruit, late and early, the blackberry is not 
cultivated largely. No other small fruits have been fairly tried. The general opinion 
is that our warm weather lasts too long for the raspberry, gooseberry and currant. 
I have given the raspberry a trial, and cannot recommend it. 2. What soils are best 
adapted to them ? We have two soils on which the strawberry thrives, the low hum- 
mock bordering on the river. It is rich in vegetable and mineral matter — clay from 
two to four feet under surface. The next is our pine land ; soil light, and of grayish 
color, nearly devoid of vegetable matter, but largely supplied with lime and potash. 
Strawberries and blackberries do well on this soil. We have what is termed high 
hummock. It is a yellow loam, with clay, varying from two to six feet from surface. 
The orange, peach, grape, fig, quince and plum do well on this soil. 3. What is 
your mode of culture ? For strawberries, I lay off beds, slightly raised, 8 feet wide. 
On each bed I put four rows of plants, running the full length of beds. For Wilsons — 
rows 18 inches, and 12 inches between plants. Charles Downing and Seth Boyden, 
18 by 18 inches; cover all the space with pine-needles by the time warm weather 
sets in, and shade their fruit from the hot sun. I cultivate with a small hand culti- 
vator, partly invented by myself, and by hoeing, 4. What fertilizer do you consider 
most efficient ? A compost of stable manure, muck, and potash. 5. What winter 
protection do you give, if any ? None needed. For summer protection, pine straw 
between plants ; this answers a double purpose : to keep the fruit clean, also to pro- 
tect the plants in warm, dry weather, and retain moisture. 6. Do you consider 
spring or fall the best season for planting in your locality ? If I have home-grown 
plants, I prefer planting from last of August to first of December. Northern plants, 
unless grown in pots, do best if obtained in November or December. I will add 
here, for your information, Wilson's Albany is very shy of making runners for the 
first year or two after coming from the North. Seth Boyden and Charles Downing 
take possession of the ground after fruiting is over. 

William James." 

Mr. P. J. Berkmans, the well-known horticulturist of Augusta, Ga., 
informed me that the Kentucky, Charles Downing, and Crescent endured 
the southern sun well, and that the Captain Jack and Sharpless were fine 
with them ; all the purple cane and black-cap raspberries did well, but none 
of the foreign kinds thrived. Mr. Berkmans remarked that, even after ten 
years of bearing, he hesitated to express a positive opinion concerning a 
fruit, so great are the differences caused by location and soil. It is your 
young men that have been two or three years in the business, who have 
positive opinions on every subject. 

In the suburbs of Savannah, Ga., I found three-quarters of an acre of 
strawberries that had yielded a clear profit of $800 in one season. The 
preparation and culture for this profitable crop were as follows : A good 
34 



266 Success zuith Small Fruits. 

coat of manure was spread early in spring and plowed under. Cow-peas 
were then sown and plowed under in August, when another coat of 
manure was harrowed in. Planting was commenced August loth, and 
the plants set fourteen inches from each other, in beds with alleys between 
twenty-eight inches wide. They were worked with a cultivator, mulched 
with pine straw in January, and stimulated from time to time with liquid 
manure. The fact that they secured a good home market accounts, in 
part, for the large profit. 

Through the courtesy of Captain Sigwald, himself a successful horti- 
culturist, I was able to visit many strawberry plantations in the vicinity 
of Charleston, S. C, and will give a few statistics from one of the most 
flourishing. The plants were vigorous, and the long rows clean and free 
from runners. The best plants had been set out in the preceding Septem- 
ber. The force employed to set five and a half acres was : five hands taking 
up the plants with a large patent transplanter that brought away a ball of 
earth with the roots ; five more laborers " toting," or carrying on hand- 
barrows, the plants from the propagating bed to the fruiting field, and four 
planting. The expense of planting was $15 per acre. From the five and 
a half acres, there were shipped to New York 15,200 quarts, on which the 
freight, at fifteen cents per quart, amounted to $2,280. Commission on 
sales was $413, — leaving a balance of only $1,670, and out of this all other 
expenses had to come. Thus it may be seen that the expense of 
marketing the crop was greater than the expense of growing it and the net 
profit combined — a condition of things that should not last. The freight 
has been reduced to ten cents per quart this year, I understand. 

The Monarch seems peculiarly adapted to East Tennessee, and Mr. 
Ed. S. Sheppard, who first introduced them, found a sensation resulting 
that in its proportions resembled the mammoth berry. 

The Crystal City and Captain Jack are favorite varieties in Missouri. 

For the latitude and climate of New York, and westward, much 
suggestion has been given already. 

Mr. J. T. Lovett, of Little Silver, N. J., gives the following list as the 
best selection for their light sandy soils : 

FOR THE HOME GARDEN. FOR MARKET OF VALUE IN THE 

ORDER NAMED. 

Strawberries. 

Strata berries. 
French's Seedling — best early crop. 

Charles Downing — ^best medium, or main crop. Wilson's Albany, \^ ^^^ shinment 

Kentucky — best late. Captain Jack, ) 



Suggestive Experiences. 

FOR THE HOME GARDEN. 



267 



Red Raspberries. 

* Herstine — -best early. 

Turner — best entirely hardy early. 

Cuthbert — best medium and late. 



FOR MARKET OF VALUE IN THE 

ORDER NAMED. 

Strawberries. 

Crescent Seedling, \ 

Charles Downing, \ For near market. 

Downer's Prolific, J 



BlacJi-cap Raspberries. 

Doolittle's Improved — best early. 
Mammoth Cluster — best medium and 
late. 

MamniotJi Blackberries. 

Wilson's Early — best early. 
Kittatinny — best main crop. 

Currants. 

Cherry — best red. 

Red Dutch — best for culinary purposes. 

White Grape — best white. 

Victoria — best late. 

Black Naples — best black. 



Red Raspbej'ries. 



Gooseberries. 



Cuthbert. 
Brandywine. 



Black-cap Raspberries. 



Mammoth Cluster. 
Doohttle's Improved. 



Blackberries. 



Downing. 



Kittatinny. 

f Wilson's Early. 

Currants. 
Cherry. 
Red Dutch. 
Black Naples. 

Gooseberries. 
Downing. 
Houghton Seedling. 



In the Sixth Annual Report of the N. J. State Board of Agriculture, I 
find the following interesting statement from the well-known horticulturist, 
Mr. P. T. Ouinn. 



" ONE ACRE OF STRAWBERRIES. 

" Newark, October, 1878. 

" The following are the methods of culture and the products of one acre of 
strawberries, grown on my farm near Newark, during the season of 1878. The 
ground on which these strawberries were grown was planted with Early Rose pota- 

* " Requires winter protection to insure a crop. 

\ " In former years, this was the most profitable of all sorts, but latterly it is so frequently injured by winter, and so 
generally attacked by disease or insects throughout the State, as to render it uncertain." 



268 S?iccess with Small Fndts. 

toes, and heavily manured in the spring of 1877. These potatoes were dug and 
marketed during the last week in July and first week in August of the same year. 
The ground was at once cleared oft", plowed and harrowed smoothly. Furrows 
were then opened four or five inches deep and two and a half feet apart. Between 
the 15th and 22d of August, 1877, the strawberry plants were set in these furrows 
from fifteen to eighteen inches apart, without any manure being added. Some 
plants died here and there, but the bulk of those set out made a strong growth 
before cold weather. They were kept free from weeds by running a cultivator 
twice between the rows and hoeing twice. This treatment kept the ground abso- 
lutely free from weeds. In the middle of December, the plants were covered over 
with a compost of the sweepings of the vegetable and fish markets, with some horse 
manure mixed through it. The whole was thoroughly decayed and light in charac- 
ter. About the middle of April, 1878, the coarsest part of this mulch was raked off 
the strawberry plants, and left in the spaces between the rows, the finer portion 
being left among the plants. To the coarse part raked off" was added salt hay, 
pressed under the leaves of the plants on either side of the rows, enough 
being added to keep the soil around the plants moist and the fruit free from 
grit. There was no disturbance of the soil in any way in the spring, beyond 
the cutting off at the surface of a few straggling weeds that started up here 
and there. 

" The varieties grown upon this acre were ' Charles Downing ' and ' Green Pro- 
lific,' and the yield was five thousand four hundred and eighty-seven (5,487) 
quarts. The gross receipts from this acre of berries was seven hundred and ninety- 
five dollars and sixty-one cents ($795.61). Deducting the commissions and picking 
the fruit, the net returns were $620.60." 



Messrs. Gibson and Bennett, of New Jersey, stated before the Western 
New York Horticultural Society, that they " liked the bedding system, 
say four-row beds, with plants one foot apart each way, and two-feet walks 
between the beds. We fertilize with fine horse manure, spreading it 
heavily and plowing it under. We start plants in pots, and transfer them 
to the beds in September, the earlier the better. These potted plants 
form fine, large crowns, ready for the finest fruit. The beds are 
covered with manure January ist. The fruit is picked the following 
June, and the beds then plowed under at once, and planted with other 
crops." 

By this system, it will be seen that the plants occupy the ground but 
about ten months, and little or no cultivation is given. It is practically 
the same method as that employed around Charleston, S. C, and, I am 
inclined to think, could often be practiced at the North with great profit. 
In contrast, Mr. J. K. Sharpless said, on the same occasion: "We grow 
in the hill system, and expect the plants to last four or five years"; adding, 
■" My experience teaches me that strawberries should not be cultivated 



Suggestive Experiences. 269 

deeply until their season of rest is over, say the last of August." I think 
this view sound. 

Mr. E. B. Underhill, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., said that he "valued 
the Golden Defiance for late fruit. The Glendale is more vigorous. I 
think highly of the Champion and Kentucky. The Duncan is our best 
early of those well tested. As the mid- market in this section will prob- 
ably be glutted with Crescents, I shall take great pains with the 
Cumberland Triumph, which, picked in pints (on account of its softness), 
will yield almost as well, and bring more dollars than any sort I have 
tested yet." 

From Mr. Frank S. Ailing, I learn that all the small fruits succeed 
finely on the shores of Puget Sound, Washington Territory. 

I will close this chapter of experiences with a very interesting letter 
from the Rev. Mr. A. A. Von Iffland, of Quebec, who gives an admirable 
statement of the conditions of success in the latitude of Northern Canada. 
It will be seen that his light, warm soil makes a difference of several 
degrees of latitude in his favor. 

" My soil is of a light, gravelly nature, with a subsoil of coarse sand. It 
requires annual applications of large quantities of manure to bring about the best 
results, but then yields generous returns. It is warm and quick, and so porous that 
it can be worked almost immediately after the heaviest showers. Plants form roots 
in this soil with marvelous rapidity. All kinds of vegetables can be successfully 
cultivated. Potatoes, tomatoes, squash, corn, carrots, parsnips, melons, cucumbers, 
beans, and peas are grown to perfection. Of course, it is liable to suffer severely 
in a drought — an evil which I find is best obviated by plenty of barn-yard manure 
and cultivation. The climate is doubdess severe, and the winters long, but the 
abundance of snow affords the best kind of protection and is of the greatest 
possible advantage in the culture of small fruits. Winter sets in with us some- 
times as early as the first of November, sometimes not till the middle of December, 
and the snow has not disappeared from the vicinity of the fences till the last week 
in April. The average depth of snow is 41^ feet, and we have cold spells of three 
or four days at a dme, when the glass varies between 20 and 30 degrees below 
zero. 



" STRAWBERRIES. 

" I think that all the varieties which are cultivated in the United States can be 
cultivated here under the same conditions of soil. I grow successfully the Colonel 
Cheney, Triomphe de Gand, Wilson, Charles Downing, Nicanor, Green Prolific, 
Monarch of the West, Seth Boyden, but have discarded Jucunda and Kentucky. I 
have had the greatest success with the Cheney, Charles Downing, Wilson, and 



270 Success with Small Fruits. 

Triomphe, in the order written. I plant both in fall and spring, but prefer fall 
setting when it can be done early and you have good plants. 

" I used to strike plants in three-inch pots, but have abandoned that plan, and 
instead, lay the runners as early as I can get them (from ist to 20th July), and when 
well rooted, set them out, with a ball of earth, from 15th to 20th August. If the 
season is at all moist, so that the young plants make good progress before the frosts 
set in (about middle of October), I get a good crop (half a full crop) the following 
summer. From plants set in the spring, I take no fruit. With this exception, fall 
and spring settings are treated alike. As the cultivation is all done by hand, I have 
found that planting in beds of three rows each combines the greatest advantages. 
The rows are 15 inches apart, and the plants 18 inches apart in the row — in the quin- 
cunx form ; each bed is separated from the rest by a path 30 inches wide. I need not 
say that the soil has been previously well enriched — with compost, generally, and well- 
decomposed manure. In fact, as I usually plant on soil from which a crop of pota- 
toes has been removed, the ground has received two applications the year the plants 
are set. As the Colonel Cheney is my favorite, in order to fertilize it, I plant alternate 
beds of some good staminate variety, Charles Downing, Triomphe, or Wilson. The 
cultivation of the young plants the first season consists in cutting off any runners that 
may form, and keeping them clear of weeds. When well established, the beds are 
top-dressed with an inch or two of old manure ; this feeds the plants, keeps the soil 
about the roots moist, and acts as a mulch when the fruit sets, and yields the follow- 
ing summer. The following spring and summer, nothing is done to these beds till 
after fruiting, except to hoe out the weeds. After fruiting, a thorough weeding is 
effected, and the runners are cut every three weeks : and before the frosts set in, the 
beds are given a top-dressing of old manure. After the second crop of fruit is taken 
off, they are weeded, and the runners are allowed to strike. The third spring, wood 
ashes are applied ; and, after fruiting, the plants are turned under. No winter pro- 
tection is given to the plants, unless you except the top-dressing of manures — but 
this is sometimes not applied till spring — and I observe no appreciable difference 
between the plants with and those without it. What I do observe is that an early 
winter, and plenty of snow, kill fewer plants than a winter in which the snow-falls 
have been delayed till after frosts and rains. 

" Strawberries begin to ripen with us about the 28th of June, and raspberries 
about the 15th of July. With the above treatment, I have grown Wilsons and 
Cheneys at the rate of 1 1 ,000 quarts, or 344 bushels, to the acre. 



" RASPBERRIES. 

" I prefer fall planting, which may be done as late as they can be put in, 
I have set them the last day of October, without losing one. I plant them four 
feet apart, but five would be better, and tie the canes, when grown, to stakes four 
and a half feet high.* Sometimes I have laid them down, and sometimes have 
tied up the young canes to the stakes in the fall, and I find but little difference. 
They always bear, and are never winter-killed. 

* "The following fall, of course; when planted, the canes are cut back, so as to be only six inches aboveground." 



Suggestive Experiences. 271 

" As to blackberries, I have but little experience. That blackberries will suc- 
ceed here, some canes I saw 15th August, in a friend's garden, some two miles 
from my house, afford ample proof. They were loaded with clusters of magnifi- 
cent, large, luscious fruit, and were equally prolific last year. My friend told me 
he was obliged to give them very warm protection ; literally bury them in straw 
and earth. 

" Red and black currants grow well with us, under ordinary treatment. Goose- 
berries, however, are liable to mildew ; that is, the English varieties. The native and 
hybrids, of course, are safe enough. Still, under some conditions, I have seen the 
English varieties without a touch of mildew. My English varieties mildewed 
badly this summer, and the man from whom I got them says he has never seen 
it in his garden, not far from me. I went to see his bushes, and there was not a 
sign of mildew affecting his gooseberries, which were very large and fine." 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



A FEW RULES AND MAXIMS. 



SUGGESTIVE experiences and the methods of successful men are 
usually far more helpful than a system of rules. Nevertheless, I have 

thought that some concise max- 
ims and formulas would be of use 
to those not yet well versed in 
the labors of a fruit farm. Such 
rules, also, may be of service to 
the unfortunates who are de- 
pendent on the " hired man," 
since they can be copied and 
given to this minister of destiny 
whose hands work out our weal 
or woe so largely. The artist has 
portrayed two types of workmen 
that are incorrigible. The one 
slashes away with his hap-hazard 
hoe, while he looks and talks in 
another direction. His tongue, 




A Hap-hazard Hoe. 



at least, is rarely idle, and his curiosity awakes when he does. If any one 
or anything goes by, he must watch it while in sight and then comment and 



A Few Rules and Maxims. 273 

expectorate. He is not only versed in all the coarse gossip concerning his 
neighbors, but also can talk by the hour of the short-comings of even their 
horses and dogs. The virtues of man or beast, however, make but little 
impression on what answers in his organism for a mind. That which is 
good, wholesome and refined interests him no more than strawberries 
would a buzzard. To the degree that he is active, he usually makes havoc. 
The weeds do not suffer seriously from his efforts, but if you have a few 
choice plants, a single specimen or two of something unpurchasable and 
rare, or a seedling that you dream may have a future, the probabilities are 
that, unless watched and warned, he will extirpate them utterly. It rarely 
happens that you can teach this type of man better things. The leopard 
may change his spots and the Ethiopian his skin, but this man — though 
resembling both outwardly, through his uncleanliness — never changes. His 
blunders, garrulity and brainless labor, however, would transform Izaak 
Walton himself into a dragon of irritability. The eftbrt to reform such a 
man would be heroic, indeed, but let those who enter upon such a task 
give their whole souls to it, and not attempt gardening at the same time ; 
unless the garden is maintained for the sake of the man, and they, in their 
zeal, approach Titania in her midsummer-night's madness, when she bade 
her attendant fairies to " feed " the " translated " weaver — 

" With apricocks and dewberries, 
"With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries." 

This degenerate descendant of Bottom, however, needs no such consid- 
erate attention ; he will help himself to the choicest and rarest. 

Scarcely better than the type portrayed above is the deliberate 
workman, who can soon show you how easy it is to spend two dollars 
in order to make one. He has lighted his pipe and sat down to a brief, 
light task, as a noted general did before Richmond. His wages — the 
one thing he is prompt about — will leave little margin of profit on the 
berries that he has packed, although, by reason of his ancient pipe, they may 
outrank all the fruit in the market. This man never walks nor runs, no 
matter how great the emergency and press of work — he merely jogs 
around, and picks a raspberry as he would pry out a bowlder. He does 
his work fairly well, usually ; but the fact that it would require a hundred 
such men to care for a small place causes not the slightest solicitude. He 
would smoke just as stolidly and complacently after bringing wreck and 
ruin to a dozen employers. 

Men of these types are as disastrous on a fruit farm as the Lachnos- 
terna or currant worm. Unless the reader has far more native goodness 
35 



274 



Success with Small Fruits. 



and acquired grace than the writer, he had better dismiss them speedily, 

or his feehngs may resemble those that Sam Jubilee described on page 134. 

I have given two extreme examples, but there are also gradations of these 

characters, who had better 

find employment from 

those requiring "hands" 

only. Successful work on 

a fruit farm, or in a garden, 

requires a quick brain, a 

keen eye, a brisk step and 

a deft hand. Many of its 

labors are light, and no 

profit can follow unless 

they are performed with 

dispatch, at the right time 

and in the right way. 

The majority of those 
we employ wish to do 
rio-ht and to g-ive satisfac- 




The Deliberate Workman. 

tion. They are not only willing but are glad to learn ; and while only 
actual and long-continued experience can make a thorough gardener, 
perhaps the following rules, maxims and principles, embodying the expe- 
rience of others, may be of service to beginners, giving them a start in the 
right direction : 

I. Never put off till spring, work that might be done in the fall. Spring 
is always too short for the labor it brings, even when not wet and late. 



A Few Rules ajid Maxims. 275 

2. Plow in the fall all heavy, loamy land that you intend to plant in 
spring. This exposes it to the action of frost, and, if done late, tends to 
destroy insects and their larvae. Do not plow sand in the fall unless there 
is upon it sod, stubble, etc., that is to decay. 

3. Top-dress very light land with an inch or two of clay or heavy loam 
in November, and let the winter frosts and rains blend the two diverse soils 
to their mutual advantage. Harrowing in fertilizers on light ground is 
better than plowing them in. 

4. In the fall, top-dress all the small fruits with compost, bone dust or 
other fertilizers that have staying powers, spreading it along close to the 
rows and over the roots, and working it into the soil lightly by cultivation. 
This gives everything a vigorous start in the spring. 

5. If possible, take out before winter all perennial weeds — sorrel, white 
clover, etc., but do not greatly disturb the roots of strawberries just on the 
approach of winter. 

6. In most localities and soils, raspberries, currants, gooseberries and 
blackberries do better if planted any time after they drop their foliage in 
the fall. Such planting can be continued even into the winter, on mild, 
still days, when frost is neither in the air nor soil. Frozen earth should 
never come in contact with roots. I plant strawberries, also, all 
through the autumn, even into December ; and before the ground freezes, 
hoe upon them one or two inches of soil, raking it off as soon as freezing 
weather is over in the spring. 

7. The earlier plants are set out in spring, the better, if the ground and 
weather are suitable. It is usually best to wait till the danger of severe 
frost is over. Do not plant when the ground is wet and sticky, or dry 
and lumpy, at any season, if it can be helped. Do not plant in a high, 
hot or cold wind. Make the most of mild, still and cloudy days. If plants 
can be set before a storm or shower, much is gained ; but this is not essential 
if roots are imbedded their whole length in moist (not wet) earth, and the 
soil made very firm around them. Plantings may be made in very dry 
weather if the land is forked or plowed late in the afternoon, and the plants 
set immediately in the fresh, moist earth. Keep the roots from contact 
with unfermented manure. 

8. In handling plants at any time, never let the little rootlets dry 
and shrivel. Keep them from sun, frost and wind. If the roots of plants 
received in boxes are frozen, let them thaw out in a cellar undisturbed. 
If roots are black, shriveled, or musty from long transportation, wash 
them in clean water, and, in the case of strawberries, shorten them one- 
third, and then plant at once in moist soil. 



276 Success zvith Small Fruits. 

9. In cultivating strawberry plants recently set, stir the surface merely, 
with a rake, not over half an inch deep. 

10. Never disturb roots by working deeply among them in dry 
weather. At such times, stir the siirface only, and often. 

11. If you water at all, water thoroughly, and keep the soil moist till 
rain comes, otherwise watering is an injury. 

12. The easiest and cheapest way to keep a garden clean is 
to rake the ground over once a week on sunny days. This method 
destroys the weeds when they are just appearing, and maintains 
moisture. 

13. Pick fruit, if possible, when it is dry, and before it is over-ripe. Do 
not leave it in the sun or wind, but take it at once to coolness and shade. 
Pack carefully and honestly. A quart of small, decayed, green or muddy 
berries scattered through a crate of fine fruit may reduce its price 
one-half 

14. Mulch everything you can. Save all the leaves and litter that can 
be gathered on the place, and apply it around the plants only when the 
ground is moist. Dry ground covered with mulch may be kept dry all 
summer. 

15. Practice summer pinching and pruning only when plants are in 
their spring and early summer growth, and not after the wood begins to 
ripen. If delayed till then, wait till the plant is dormant in the fall. 

16. Sandy or gravelly land can usually be worked immediately after 
rain ; but if heavy land is plowed or cultivated when wet, or so dry as to 
break up in lumps, it is injured. 

17. Watch all crops daily. Plants are living things, and need atten- 
tion. Diseases, insects, drought or wet, may destroy them in a few days, 
or even hours, if left uncared for. 

18. If you cultivate strawberries in the spring, do the work very early 
— as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. After the fruit buds 
show themselves, stir the ground with a rake or hoe only, and never more 
than an inch deep. I advocate early spring cultivation, and then the 
immediate application of the mulch. 

19. Just as the ground begins to freeze, in the fall or early winter, 
cover strawberry plants with some light material that will prevent 
alternate freezing and thawing during the winter. Never use heavy, 
unfermented manure for this purpose. Leaves, straw, salt hay, light 
stable manure, or any old litter from the garden, answers. 

20. In setting raspberry plants, or any fruit, never set in hard, 
unprepared soil. Do not stick them in little shallow holes, nor in deep, 



A Few Rules and Maxims. 277 

narrow ones, wherein the roots are all huddled together; make the holes 
large and deep, either with the plow or spade, fill the bottom partly with 
fine, rich, moist, surface soil, free from lumps and manure, and spread the 
roots out on this, then fill in with very fine pulverized earth, setting the 
plant, in light land, one or two inches deeper than it grew naturally ; and 
in heavy land, at the same depth. If manure is used, spread it on the 
surface, around, not up against, the stem of the plant. 

21. Both, for the sake of economy and thoroughness, use the plow 
and cultivator rather than fork and hoe, whenever it is possible. Ground 
can be laid out with a view to this rule. 

22. In cultivating crops among trees, use short whiffletrees, with the 
traces so fastened as to prevent the young trees from being scratched and 
wounded. 

23. Save, with scrupulous economy, all wood ashes, soapsuds, and all 
articles having fertilizing qualities. A compost heap is like a sixpenny 
savings bank. Small and frequent additions soon make a large aggregate. 
The fruit grower and his land usually grow rich together, and in the same 
proportion. 

24. Once more I repeat — in handling and setting out plants, never let 
the roots shrivel and dry out. After plants and cuttings are in the ground, 
never leave them just long enough to dry out and die. Keep them moist 
— not wet and sodden, but moist all the time. In setting out plants, 
especially strawberries, spread out the roots, and make the ground very 
firm about them. In trenching stock, put the roots down deeply, and 
cover well half-way up the stems. The gardener who fails to carry out 
the principles under this number has not learned the letter A of his 
business. 

Mr. William Parry gives the following rule for ascertaining the number 
of plants required for one acre of land, which contains 43,560 square 
feet : 

'' Multiply the distance in feet between the rows by the distance the 
plants are set apart in the row, and their product will be the number of 
square feet for each plant or hill, which, divided into the number of feet in 
an acre, will show how many plants or hills the acre will contain, thus : 

Blackberries 8 feet by 3 = 24)43, 56o( ^'^^S plants. 

Raspberries 7 " 3 = 21 )43»56o( 2,074 plants. 

Strawberries 5 " i = 5)43, 56o( 8,712 plants. . 

Strawberries 3 " 16 in. 4)43, 56o( 10,890 plants." 

The same rule can be applied to all other plants or trees. 



2/8 



Success with Small Fruits. 




I would suggest that fruit 
growers take much pains to secure 

trustworthy pickers. Careless, Temporary Quarters for Pickers. 

slovenly gathering of the fruit 

may rob it of half its value. It often is necessary for those who live 
remote from villages to provide quarters for their pickers, such as the 
artist has suggested. Usually, the better the quarters, the better the class 
that can be obtained to do the work. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



VARIETIES OF STRAWBERRIES. 



TO attempt to describe all the strawberries that have been named 
would be a task almost as interminable as useless. This whole ques- 
tion of varieties presents a different phase every four or five years. 
Therefore, I treat the subject in my final chapter, in order that I may give 
revision as often as there shall be occasion for it, without disturbing the 
body of the book. A few years since, certain varieties were making almost 
as great a sensation as the Sharpless. They are now regarded as little 
better than weeds, in most localities. Thus, the need of frequent revision 
is clearly indicated. In chapter xiii. I have spoken of those varieties that 
have become so well established as to be regarded as standards, or which 
are so promising and popular as to deserve especial mention. More 
precise and technical descriptions will now be given. I shall not copy old 
catalogues, or name those kinds that have passed wholly out of cultivation. 
Such descriptions would have no practical value, and the strawberry 
antiquarian can find them in the older works on this subject. Neither 
shall I name many foreign kinds, as the majority of them have little 
value this side of the Atlantic. Soil, climate, locality, and other 
reasons, cause such great differences in opinion in regard to varieties that 
I expect exceptions to be taken to every description. Many of the new 
sorts that I am testing have not, as yet, proved themselves worthy of 
mention. 



28o Success with Small Fruits. 

Agriculturist. — Originated with the late Mr. Seth Boyden, of Newark, 
N. J. Through the courtesy of an old friend of Mr. Boyden, I am able to 
give his description of his own berry, copied from his diary by a member 
of his family : 

"No. lo. — Name, Agriculturist. A cross between No. 5 and Peabody's 
Georgia ; a hardy, tall grower, with much foliage and few runners ; berries very 
large, broad shoulders, slightly necked, often flat, and some coxcombed or double, 
high crimson color to the centre ; very firm, and high-flavored. A staminate variety." 

(No. 5 is the Green Prolific.) The Agriculturist was once very pop- 
ular, and is still raised quite largely in some localities, but is fast giving 
way to new varieties. It is peculiarly adapted to light soils, but on my 
place has scalded and "dampened off" badly. It seemingly has had its 
day. 

Boydeiis No. 30 i^Seth Boydeu\ — I again let Mr. Boyden describe his 
own seedling : 

" Plant above medium size ; round leaf, deep green ; bears the summer heat 
well ; berries necked, rather long, large ; abundance of seed ; dark red ; has buds, 
blossoms and ripe berries on the same peduncle ; is of the Agriculturist family, and 
an eccentric plant. Perfect flower." 

From the reference above, I gather that No. 5, or Green Prolific, is one 
of the parents of this famous berry. Mr. Boyden speaks of some of his 
other seedlings more favorably than of this — another instance of the truth 
that men do not always form the most correct judgments of their own 
children. "No. 30" will perpetuate Mr. Boyden's name through many 
coming years, and all who have eaten this superb berry have reason to 
bless his memory. No. 5 and No. 10 are rapidly disappearing from our 
gardens. The Boyden (as it should be named) is one of the largest and 
sweetest berries in cultivation — too sweet for my taste. It responds nobly 
to high culture, but it is impatient of neglect and light, dry soils. It is 
one of the best market berries, and although not hard, is firm and dry, and 
thus is well adapted for shipping. It is one of the few fancy berries 
that will endure long transportation by rail. As I have stated, Mr. Jerole- 
mon has raised 327 bushels of this variety on an acre, and received for the 
same $1,386. Give it moist soil and cut the runners. A fine portrait 
of the fruit may be seen on page 6}). 

Bidwell. — Foliage light green, plant very vigorous; truss 3 to 5 inches 
high ; berry very conical, bright scarlet, with a neck highly glazed, glossy; 
flesh firm, pink ; calyx close ; season very early. 



Varieties of Strawberries. 28 1 

Not yet fully tested, but giving remarkable promise. It has seemed 
to me to be the best of the new early berries. Staminate. 

Beauty. — Plant fairly vigorous, leaf crinkled ; truss 4 to 6 inches high ; 
berry obtusely conical; long, glazed neck; crimson — 3 to 6 inches in 
circumference ; flesh light pink ; flavor excellent ; calyx spreading ; sea- 
son early ; a very fine and beautiful variety for the amateur and fancy 
market. It requires petting, and repays it. It makes very few runners. 
It originated with Mr. E. W. Durand, of Irvington, N. J. Staminate. 

Black Defiance. — Plant vigorous, if the soil suits it; foliage dark green, 
low, bushy ; downy leaf-stalk ; truss low ; 2^ to 4 inches ; berry very dark 
crimson ; very obtuse conical, often round and irregular ; early ; flesh dark 
crimson, flavor sprightly, high, and rich; moderately productive; calyx 
spreading; inclined to stool ; its runners bear fruit in September. It is one 
of the best varieties originated by Mr. Durand, who has given me the fol- 
lowing history. " It is a seedling of Boyden's Green Prolific, impregnated 
by the Triomphe de Gand. The seed was planted in i860. The berry 
was exceedingly tart when first red, and was on that account pronounced 
worthless by competent judges (so considered). Having but limited 
experience at the time, I threw it aside, but afterward retained five plants 
to finish a row of trial seedlings. Eventually, it was shown at the exhibi- 
tion of the N. J. Agricultural Society, and was awarded the first prize as 
the best new seedling, by such competent judges as A. S. Fuller, Dr. 
Thurber and Chas. Downing." From that day to this, all lovers of good 
fruit have indorsed their opinion. It is firm, and can be shipped long 
distances. Staminate. 

Black Giant. — Said to be a decided improvement on the above, and to 
have the same general characteristics ; but not yet tested by general culti- 
vation. 

Black Prince. — An old and once popular English variety, one of 
Keen's seedlings, now rarely grown in this country. 

Brilliant. — Originated with W. B. Storer, of Akron, Ohio, who 
describes it as " a large conical berry ; color a dark, glossy red, and deep 
red all through; flavor rich. Plant very hardy and prolific." 

British Qjieen. — One of Myatt's seedlings, of which Mr. J. M. 
Merrick writes : " It is perhaps the most famous berry ever raised 
in England, where it is a favorite for market." Unfortunately, it 
does not come to full perfection here, and is not only tender but 
very capricious in choice of soils. It is the parent of many 
excellent kinds. The fruit is of the largest size and highest flavor. 
Staminate. 
36 



282 Success with Small Fruits. 

Brooklyn Scarlet. — One of the best-flavored berries, but too soft, 
except for home use. Originated with Mr. A. S. Fuller. Staminate. 

Boston Pine. — Once a favorite in the vicinity of Boston, and largely 
used to fertilize Hovey's Seedling. But few are raised now, to my knowl- 
edge. Fruit quite large; slightly conical; deep, glossy crimson; rather 
firm ; juicy, and of good flavor. The plant requires hill culture in rich 
soil. Staminate. 

Bui-r's Nezu Pine. — A medium-sized, roundish berry; scarlet in the 
sun ; pale in the shade ; juicy, sweet, aromatic, early, very soft. Pistillate. 

Belle. — One of Mr. J. B. Moore's seedlings. New. I give an extract 
from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's report : " The Belle, we 
think, is the largest strawberry ever exhibited on our tables." As yet, 
not generally tested. 

Captain Jack. — Plant moderately vigorous; leaf-stalk smooth, wiry; 
very dark green foliage, which in many regions is inclined to burn ; truss 5 
to 7 inches ; recumbent ; very much branched, with from 12 to 18 berries ; 
berry light scarlet, round, fair size and uniform ; flesh pink, moderately 
firm ; flavor poor ; calyx close ; season late ; very productive ; flowers 
grow above the leaves ; the fruit endures transportation remarkably well ; 
staminate. Originated with Mr. S. Miller, of Blufton, Mo., and is a 
seedling of the Wilson. 

Charles Downing. — Plant very vigorous; foliage light green; tall and 
slender; leaf-stalk downy; truss 6 to 7 inches, slender, drooping; 8 to 10 
berries, which are scarlet, with a pale cheek, — crimson when fully ripe ; 
berry round to obtuse conical ; regular, the first slightly ridged ; some- 
what soft ; flesh juicy, light pink ; flavor very fine ; size 3 to 5 inches 
in circumference ; calyx spreading and recurved ; season medium ; very 
productive. 

This is one of the best family varieties, and is planted every year more 
largely for market. With care, it endures transportation very well, and 
those who once taste it ask for it again. There are few, if any other, 
varieties that do so well throughout the country at large. Originated 
with Mr. J. S. Downer, Fairview, Ky. Staminate. For illustration, see 
title-page. 

Champion. — Plant vigorous; foliage dark green; leaf-stalk downy; 
truss 5 to 6 inches, branched ; berry dark crimson, round ; flesh rather 
soft, crimson ; flavor very good when fully ripe, but poor when it first 
turns red; size 23^ to 5 inches; calyx recurved; season medium to 
late ; exceedingly productive. One of the best and most profitable for 
near market. Originated with Dr. J. C. Nefif, Carlisle, Pa. Pistillate. 



I 



Varieties of Stj-awberries. 283 

Caroline. — Plant a moderate grower; foliage light green; leaf-stalk 
somewhat downy ; truss 4 to 5 inches ; berry bright scarlet, with a 
varnished appearance ; bulky, conical ; flesh scarlet ; flavor good ; size 3 
to 4 inches ; calyx spreading ; season medium. Originated with J. B. 
Moore, Concord, Mass. Staminate. 

Crescent Seedling. — Plant vigorous, tall, with dark green and very slender 
foliage ; leaf-stalk rather smooth ; truss 6 to 8 inches, well branched ; bearing 
12 to 18 berries; bright scarlet berry, round to conical, with a peculiar 
depression near the apex ; large ones somewhat irregular ; size 2 to 4 
inches ; flesh scarlet ; flavor not good, unless grown on light land and 
the berry ripens in the sun ; calyx recurved. Soft, for long carriage ; but 
its bright color and fair size, under good culture, cause it to sell readily in 
near markets. I think the public will demand better flavored berries. 
It certainly should. There are few weeds that can compete with the 
Crescent in vigorous growth. It does well in the hot climate of the South. 
Indeed, there are few soils so poor and dry that it cannot thrive upon 
them; and, at the same time, under high culture, with runners cut, it 
improves wonderfully. It has yielded at the rate of 15,000 quarts to 
the acre. Originated with Mr. William Parmelee, of New Haven, Conn., in 
1870. Pistillate, or nearly so. For illustration, see page loi. 

Ceiitennial Favorite. — Plant vigorous, tall, with light green foliage; truss 
3 to 7 inches, much branched ; berry dark scarlet, round to flat, inclined to 
have a neck ; 2 to 4 inches ; smooth and glossy in appearance, uniform in 
size ; flesh dark scarlet ; flavor fine ; calyx spreading ; season medium to 
late; moderately productive. Originated with Mr. E. W. Durand, Irving- 
ton, N. J. Pistillate. 

Cinderella. — Plant very vigorous, with light green foliage; leaf- 
stalks soft, downy ; truss 4 to 6 inches ; berry conical, sometimes 
necked, bright scarlet, glossy ; flesh moderately firm, light pink ; flavor 
fair, but not high ; size 3 to 5 inches ; season early to medium ; calyx 
spreading. 

The young plants are not very productive, but I think they would 
improve greatly in this respect if the runners were cut, and that they would 
bear better the second year. The berry is almost as beautiful and 
attractive as the Jucunda, which it resembles somewhat; and it can be 
grown on light soils, where the Jucunda cannot thrive. Originated with 
Mr. Oscar Felton, of N. J., 1873. Staminate. 

Continental. — Plant vigorous ; leaf-stalk smooth; truss 5 to 7 inches, well 
branched, bearing 12 to 18 berries ; berry dark crimson, obtusely conical ; 
flesh firm, scarlet ; flavor good ; calyx recurving ; season late ; moder- 



284 Success ivith Small Fruits. 

ately productive, and^ under hill culture, very prolific. Originated with 
Mr. Oscar Felton. Staminate. 

When visiting Mr. Felton, I saw several other seedlings of great 
promise, which I hope he will send out at an early date. 

Colonel CJieney. — Plant low, spreading, vigorous, with light green foliage ; 
leaf-stalk downy ; truss 3 to 5 inches, low, branching ; berry light scarlet, 
long, conical, necked — large ones very irregular ; flesh pink, watery, soft; 
the core tends to pull out with the hull ; flavor poor ; calyx spreading ; 
season medium to late ; very productive, and Mr. A. M. Purdy, editor 
Small Fruit Recorder, writes to me that for near markets it is still grown 
with great profit in western New York. Pistillate. 

Crimson Cone. — (Scotch Runner or Pine-apple). About fourteen years 
ago, according to Mr. Fuller, there were more acres of this old-fashioned 
variety cultivated for the New York market than of all other kinds 
together. They were also called " Hackensacks," and were brought in 
the small, handled baskets already described, and were hulled as they were 
picked ; their long neck making this an easy task. They are small, 
regular; conical ; firm, with a rich, sprightly, acid flavor. It is not a pistil- 
late, as many claim, Mr. Fuller asserts, but a spurious variety, largely 
mixed with it, is a pistillate. It is one of the historical strawberries, but it 
has had its day. In size and flavor, it is a near approach to the wild berry. 

Ciwtberlajtd Triumph. — Plant vigorous, with dark green foliage; leaf- 
stalk smooth ; truss 6 to 7 inches ; well branched ; berry round and very 
uniform in shape, pale scarlet ; flesh light pink, soft ; very large ; size 3 to 
6 inches ; calyx close ; season early to medium. 

One of the best for family use. Under high culture, it is superb. 
Originated with Mr. Amos Miller, of Carlisle, Pa. Staminate. 

Damask Beauty. — Foliage very dark green; leaf-stalk downy; truss 
low, 2^^ to 4 inches ; berry very light scarlet; obtusely conical; size 2 to 
4 inches ; flesh soft, juicy, pink ; flavor fine ; calyx close ; season early. 

A very distinct variety, and interesting to an amateur; but of no great 
value. Staminate. 

Duchesse. — Plant vigorous, tall ; leaves dark green ; leaf-stalk and mid- 
rib very downy ; truss 7 inches ; recumbent, well branched, 6 to 8 berries 
that hold out well in size ; berry round, bulky, very uniform, moderately 
firm ; bright scarlet ; flesh pink, juicy ; flavor fine ; size 3 to 4 inches ; 
season very early, but continuing quite long. Inclined to stool, or make 
large plants from a single root ; enormously productive ; from 50 to 200 
berries to a plant, in hill culture. I regard it as the best early standard 
berry, and have always found it one of the most profitable for market. 



Varieties of Strazvberries. 285 

Originated with Mr. D. H. Barnes, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. The shape of 
the berry and its remarkable productiveness are indicated on page 113. 
Staminate. 

Duncan. — Plant vigorous; foliage light green; leaf-stalk downy; 
truss 5 to 7 inches ; berry scarlet, round to oval, often decidedly conical ; 
large ones irregular, and coxcombed ; flesh pink, not very firm ; flavor 
very good ; calyx close to spreading ; a productive, fine variety, that, 
I am inclined to think, has not been appreciated. Originated by Mr. J. 
G. Lucas, of Ulster Co., N. Y. Staminate. 

Doctor Nicaise. — A French variety ; enormously large ; soft ; not pro- 
ductive ; and on my grounds wretched in flavor. 

Dozvncrs Prolific. — A light scarlet berry ; medium to large ; oval, 
roundish, soft ; acid, but of good flavor, and perfumed like the wild berry. 
Plant very vigorous and capable of enduring much neglect ; profitable for 
home use and near market. Originated with Mr. J. S. Downer, of Ken- 
tucky. Staminate. 

Dr. Warder. — Plant tall, moderately vigorous ; foliage light green ; leaf- 
stalk downy ; truss 7 to 9 inches, branched, full of different-sized berries ; 
berry long, conical, well shouldered, crimson, firm; flesh pink; flavor 
good ; size 4 to 6 inches ; calyx close ; season very late ; burns badly, needs 
to be in shade. Staminate. A superb variety if it did not lose its foliage. 

Early Hudson. — Plant very vigorous, with light green foliage; leaf- 
stalk downy ; truss 4 to 5 inches, strong, well branched ; berry crimson, 
flattish-round ; when large, somewhat irregular; flesh crimson, juicy, soft; 
size 3 to 5 inches ; season very early ; very productive. One of the 
best for family use, and very productive and fine, with runners cut. 
Pistillate. 

Eliza. — Plant moderately vigorous; dark green; leaf-stalk downy; truss 
3 to 5 inches, stout, branched ; berry light scarlet, round to conical, 
necked, large ones irregular and coxcombed ; flesh firm, white ; flavor 
excellent ; calyx close ; season late ; moderately productive. One of the 
best foreign varieties. Staminate. 

Early Adela. — Not worth growing on my grounds. 

FrencJi s Seedling. — Plant vigorous, with light green foliage; leaf-stalk 
downy ; truss 5 to 7 inches ; berry round, scarlet ; size medium ; seeds 
deep-pitted ; flesh pink, soft ; flavor good ; calyx spreading ; season early ; 
moderately productive. Found growing wild in a meadow, near Morris- 
town, N. J. 

Forest Rose. — Plant moderately vigorous; foliage light green ; truss 3 to 
5 inches, branching ; berry bright scarlet, large, and the first somewhat 



286 Success with Small F7'uits. 

irregular, 4 to 6 inches ; flesh light pink ; flavor very fine ; calyx spreading 
and recurving ; season early. 

One of the best where it can be grown, but in some regions the 
foliage burns. Discovered growing in a vineyard, by Mr. Fetters, of 
Lancaster, Ohio. Staminate. 

Frontenac. — Foliage light green ; plant moderately vigorous ; leaf- 
stalk wiry ; truss 5 inches, 6 to 8 berries ; berry bright scarlet, roundish 
and slightly irregular ; size 2 to 3 inches ; flesh pink, solid ; season late ; 
moderately productive ; the foliage is inclined to burn. 

Glendale. — =This variety is now greatly praised as a market berry. 
Dr. Thurber and I examined it together, and agreed that its flavor was 
only second-rate ; but, as we have already seen, the public does not 
discriminate very nicely on this point. It averages large, sometimes 
exceeding six inches in circumference. It is long, conical, uniform in 
shape, necked. The first berries are often ridged somewhat, but I have 
never seen it flat or coxcombed. It has a very large calyx, is light scarlet 
in flesh and color, very firm, and therefore will probably keep and ship 
well, the large calyx aiding in this respect also. The plant is vigorous 
and makes a long runner before the new plant forms. Leaves large and 
dark green ; leaf-stalk downy ; truss 4 to 6 inches ; season very late. 
Found, by Mr. W. B. Storer, growing wild in Glendale Cemetery, Akron, 
O., in 1 87 1. Staminate. I think this berry has a future as a market 
variety. 

Green Prolific. — One of the late Mr. Seth Boyden's noted varieties, and 
a parent of far better berries than itself I quote again from Mr. Boyden's 
diary : " No. 5 ; a cross with Hovey's Seedling and Kitley's Goliath ; a 
large plant, and seldom injured by summer heat; very luxuriant grower 
and bearer; berries above medium size and of good quality. A pistillate." 

This berry was once very popular, but has been superseded. The 
fruit is very soft and second-rate in flavor. The plant is so vigorous and 
hardy that, in combination with a fine staminate, it might be the parent of 
superior new varieties. 

Gejieral Sherman. — New. Described as " large, conical, regular, brill- 
iant scarlet ; quality good; productive; early." 

Great American. — Plant but moderately vigorous ; foliage dark green ; 
leaf-stalks downy ; truss 4 to 7 inches ; berry dark crimson, round to 
conical ; under poor culture, 2 to 3 inches in size, but sometimes very 
large, 10 to 12 inches; flesh pink; flavor only fair; season late; unpro- 
ductive, unless just suited in soil and treatment. In most localities, the 
foliage burns or scalds in the sun, and also seems just adapted to the 



Varieties of Strazvberries. 287 

taste of the flea-beetle and other insects. Originated with Mr. E. W. 
Durand, and under his exceedingly high culture and skillful management 
it yielded immense crops of enormous berries that sold as high as a dollar 
per quart ; but throughout the country at large, with a few exceptions, it 
seems to have been a melancholy failure. From this variety was produced 
a berry measuring over fourteen inches in circumference — probably the 
largest strawberry ever grown. Staminate. 

Golden Defiance. — Plant tall, very vigorous, somewhat slender, light 
green; leaf-stalk moderately downy; truss 5 to 7 inches, 12 to 20 berries, 
well clustered, — all the berries developing to a good size; berry dark 
scarlet, obtusely conical, smooth, sometimes necked, very uniform, 3 to 5 
inches ; flesh scarlet, quite firm, juicy ; flavor very fine ; calyx spreading 
and recurving ; season late. 

For three successive years this has been the best late berry on my 
place, and one of the most beautiful. Unless it changes its character, it 
will win its way to the front rank in popularity. If its runners are cut, 
it is exceedingly productive of fruit that is as fine-flavored as showy. 
Pistillate. Originated with Mr. Amos Miller, of Pennsylvania. 

Glossy Cone. — One of Mr. E. W. Durand's seedlings. A pretty berry, 
with a varnished appearance, but neither productive nor vigorous on my 
grounds, thus far. New. 

Helen. — New. Plant tall, vigorous, with dark green foliage, very 
downy ; truss 5 to 7 inches, branched ; berry light scarlet, flat, conical ; 
flesh white, firm ; flavor fine ; calyx close ; season late. I fear the foliage 
is inclined to burn badly. Staminate. 

Hcrvey Davis. — New. Plant tall, rather vigorous, with light green 
foliage ; leaf-stalk smooth, except when young ; truss 5 to 6 inches ; berry 
bright scarlet, shouldered, obtusely conical, glossy ; flesh very light pink, 
firm ; flavor good ; calyx close ; season medium ; productive. It has 
seemed to me the most promising of Mr. J. B. Moore's seedlings. The 
berry resembles the Jucunda somewhat. Staminate. 

Hoveys Seedling. — One of the most famous of the historical berries, 
and still raised quite largely around Boston. It was originated by Mr. 
C. M. Hovey, and was first fruited in 1835. Its introduction made a 
great sensation in the fruit world, and the fact of its being a 
pistillate gave rise to no end of discussion. Many who first bought 
it set it out by itself, and, of course, it bore no fruit ; therefore, they 
condemned it. When its need of fertilization was understood, many 
used wild plants from the woods for this purpose, and then found 
it to be the largest and most productive strawberry in cultivation 



288 Success with Small Fruits. 

at that period. Such large crops were often raised that the theory 
was advanced by many that pistillates as a class would be more productive 
than staminates, and horticulturists became as controversial as the most 
zealous of theologians. The berry and ,the vexed questions that it 
raised have both ceased to occupy general attention, but many of the 
new varieties heralded to-day are not equal to this old-fashioned sort. 
Mr. Downing thus describes it: "The vines are vigorous and hardy, 
producing moderately large crops, and the fruit is always of the largest 
size and finely flavored ; the leaves are large, rather light green, and the 
fruit-stalks long and erect ; fruit roundish-oval and slightly conical, deep, 
shining scarlet, seeds slightly imbedded ; flesh firm ; season about 
medium." 

Hiiddlcstons Favorite. — New. Thus described by E. Y. Teas, of 
Dunreith, Ind. : " A vigorous grower, with large, glossy foliage, that 
stands the sun well ; berries of the largest size, round, with small calyx, 
of a bright, glossy, crimson color, ripening evenly, firm, with a rich, spicy 
flavor; late; very beautiful in appearance." 

Jiicit7ida. — A slow, rather than feeble grower, on heavy soils; light 
green foliage ; leaf-stalk smooth ; truss 5 to 7 inches ; berry high-shoul- 
dered, conical, of a bright, glossy crimson, very showy ; flesh scarlet, firm ; 
flavor fair and good when fully ripe ; calyx close ; season late. 

I am indebted to Dr. Hexamer for the following history : " The late 
Rev. Mr. J. Knox, of Pittsburgh, told me that in a bed of what he received 
as Bonte de St. Julien, he found a number of plants that seemed to him a 
new variety. Supposing them to be a new and very desirable seedling, he 
separated them from the others and propagated them under the name of 
' 700.' Before he offered them for sale, he discovered that they were identical 
with the Jucunda, and when they were brought out, in 1865, it was under 
the true name, Jucunda (Knox's 700)." One authority states that it 
originated in England, with a Mr. Salter ; another says that it was imported 
from Belgium. This is of little consequence, compared with the fact that it 
is the finest foreign berry we have, on heavy soils. I do not recommend it 
for light land, unless the runners are cut and high culture is given. Mr. 
M. Crawford, of Cuyahoga Ealls, Ohio, makes the interesting statement that 
Mr. Knox "sold over two hundred bushels of this variety in one day, at 
$16 per bushel." It has always been one of the most profitable on my 
heavy land. The young plants are small and feeble. Staminate. For 
illustration, see page 6^ . 

Kentucky Seedling. — Plant tall, vigorous, but slender and apt to fall; 
light green foliage ; truss 8 to 10 inches, with 8 to 10 berries ; berry scarlet, 



Varieties of Strawberries. 289 

conical, high-shouldered, somewhat flattened at the tip, regular in shape and 
uniform in size, a little rough, knobby, with seeds set in deep pits ; flesh 
but moderately firm, and very white ; flavor of the best ; calyx spreading 
and recurving ; season late and long-continued ; very productive — one of 
the very best ; size 3 to 4^ inches. It succeeds well on light soils and 
under the Southern sun, and improves wonderfully under hill culture. 
Staminate. Originated by Mr. S. J. Downer, of Kentucky. For illus- 
tration, see title-page. 

Lady of the Lake. — Plant tall, vigorous, dark green foliage; leaf-stalk 
downy ; truss 7 to 8 inches ; berry crimson, conical, necked ; flesh pink, 
firm ; flavor good, but rather dry ; size moderate ; calyx spreading ; season 
medium ; productive. Staminate. 

It has been, and is still, a favorite with the market-men around Boston. 
Originated by a Mr. Scott, in Brighton, Mass. 

La Constant. — One of the most beautiful of the foreign berries; flesh 
rosy white, sweet, juicy, very firm, and of exquisite flavor. The plants are 
dwarf and compact, and they require the highest culture. Even then, the 
crop is uncertain ; for the variety, like high-born beauty, is very capricious, 
but its smiles, in the way of fruit, are such as to delight the most fastidious 
of amateurs. Originated by De Jonghe. Staminate. It is one of the 
favorite varieties abroad for forcing. 

Lady's Finger. — An old variety, now not often seen. Conical, and 
very elongated, and of a brilliant, dark scarlet color. It was once popular, 
but has been superseded. 

Lennigs White (White Pine-apple). — This is not strictly a white 
berry, for it has a delicate flush if exposed to the sun. The flesh is pure 
white, juicy, melting, sweet and delicious in flavor, and so aromatic that 
one berry will perfume a large apartment. The plant is vigorous and 
hardy, but a shy bearer. Hill culture and clipped runners are essential to 
fruit, but, for a connoisseur's table, a quart is worth a bushel of some 
varieties. It is the best white variety, and evidently a seedling of the F. 
Chiletisis. It originated in the garden of Mr. Lennig, of Germantown, Pa. 
•Staminate. 

Lanrel Leaf. — New. Plant moderately vigorous; foliage dark green; 
leaf-stalk quite smooth ; truss 3 to 5 inches, low, stocky ; berry very 
light scarlet ; round to conical, short neck ; flesh soft, light pink ; size mod- 
erate ; flavor good ; calyx close. Originated with Mr. A. N. Jones, Le 
Roy, N. Y. Staminate. 

Longzuorth's Prolific. — An old variety, that is passing out of cultiva- 
tion ; still grown quite extensively in California. It is a large, roundish- 
Z7 



290 Success with Small Fruits. 

oval berry, of good flavor. The plant is said to be vigorous and pro- 
ductive. Originated on the grounds of the late Mr. N. Longworth^ 
of Cincinnati. 

Longfcllozv. — New. Described as very large, elongated, conical, occa- 
sionally irregular; color dark red, glossy and beautiful; flesh firm, sweet, 
and rich ; plant vigorous, with dark green, healthy foliage, not liable to 
burn in the sun ; very productive, continuing long in bearing, and of large 
size to the last. Originated with Mr. A. D. Webb, Bowling Green, Ky. 

Marvin. — This new berry is already exciting much attention, and I am 
glad that I can give a description from so careful and eminent a horticulturist 
as Mr. T. T. Lyon, President Michigan State Pomological Society : 
" From notes taken at the ripening of the fruit : ' Plant vigorous, very 
stock}^ of rather low growth, bearing a fine crop for young plants ; foliage 
nearly round, thick in substance, flat or cupped ; serratures broad and shal- 
low ; fruit large to very large, longish conical ; large specimens often 
coxcombed ; bright crimson; began to color June i6th, and the first 
ripe berries were gathered on the 20th ; stems of medium height, 
— strong; flesh light crimson; whitish at the center, firm and juicy; 
flavor high, rich, fine, with a very pleasant aroma ; seeds prominent ; 
greenish brown. We regard this as a highly promising, very large, late 
variety, and especially so for market purposes. Staminate.' " 

Originated with Mr. Harry Marvin, Ovid, Mich., and said to be from 
the Wilson and Jucunda, — an excellent parentage. 

Miners Great Prolific. — Plant vigorous; leaves light green, smooth; 
leaf-stalk downy ; truss six inches, well branched, slender, drooping ; 
berry deep crimson, round and bulky, regular shouldered ; tip green 
when half-ripe; flesh pink, moderately firm; flavor good; calyx spread- 
ing ; size four to five inches ; season medium to late. The berry holds 
out well in size, and resembles the Charles Downing somewhat, but aver- 
ages larger. It has seemed to me as promising a new variety as the 
Sharpless. I believe it has a long future. Originated with the late T. B. 
Miner in 1877. Staminate. 

Monarch of the West. — Plant very vigorous ; leaves light, when young, 
and later of a golden green, somewhat smooth ; truss six inches ; four 
to eight berries ; berry often of a carpet-bag shape, square-shouldered, 
and sometimes coxcombed, large, magnificent ; pale scarlet ; flesh light 
pink, tender ; flavor very fine ; calyx spreading and recurving ; tip of berry 
green when not fully ripe, but it colors evenly if given time. When flavor 
is the gauge of excellence in the market, this famous berry will be in the front 
rank. Its color and softness are against it, but its superb size, delicious- 



Varieties of Strawberries. 291 

ness and aroma should make it eagerly sought after by all who want a 
genuine strawberry. In the open market, it already often brings double 
the price of Wilsons. In the home garden, it has few equals. With some 
exceptions, it does well from Maine to California. The narrow row 
culture greatly increases its size and productiveness. I have had many 
crates picked in which there were few berries that did not average five 
inches in circumference. Mr. Jesse Brady, of Piano, Illinois, gives me the 
following history : " The Monarch was raised by me in 1867, from one of a 
number of seedlings, grown previously, and crossed with Boyden's Green 
Prolific. The said seedling was never introduced to the public. I raised 
fourteen, and cultivated three of them several years. They were pro- 
duced from an English berry, name unknown to me." For illustration, 
see page 259. 

Martha (Photo.). — A fine, large berry, but, as I have seen it, the 
foliage burns so badly that I think it will pass out of cultivation unless 
it improves in this respect. Staminate. 

Neunaiis Prolific (Charleston Berry). — Foliage tall, slender, dark 
green ; fruit-stalk tall ; berries light scarlet, inclined to have a neck at the 
North, not so much so at the South. First berries large, obtusely conical ; 
the later and smaller berries becoming round; calyx very large and 
drooping over the berry ; exceedingly firm, hard, indeed, and sour when 
first red, but growing richer and better in flavor in full maturity ; usually 
a vigorous grower. It was originated by a Mr. Neunan, of Charleston, S. C, 
and scarcely any other variety is grown in that great strawberry center. 

Napoleo7i III. — ^A very large foreign berry, often flattened and cox- 
combed. I found that its foliage burned so badly I could not grow it. 
Mr. P. Barry describes the plant as " rarely vigorous, and bearing only a 
few large, beautiful berries." 

New Jersey Scarlet. — An old-fashioned market berry that succeeded 
well on the light soils of New Jersey. Once popular, but not much grown 
now, I think. Mr. Downing describes it as medium in size, conical, with a 
neck; light, clear scarlet; moderately firm, juicy, sprightly. Staminate. 

Nicanor. — A seedling of the Triomphe de Gand, that originated on 
the grounds of Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, and is described by Mr. Barry 
as "hardy, vigorous, productive, early, and continuing in bearing a long 
time ; fruit moderately large ; uniform, roundish, conical ; bright scarlet ; 
flesh reddish, rather firm, juicy, sweet; of fine flavor." I found that it 
required heavy soil, high culture, with clipped runners, to produce, on 
my place, fruit large enough to be of value. The fruit ripened very 
early and was of excellent flavor. Staminate. 



292 Success with Small Fruits. 

New Dominion. — Described by Mr. Crawford, as " very large, round- 
ish, uniform in size and shape; bright red; glossy, firm, of good flavor,, 
and productive; season medium." I have seen it looking poorly on light 
soil. Originated with Mr. C. N. Biggar, on the battlefield of Lundy's 
Lane 

Oliver Goldsmith. — New; a very vigorous grower, bearing a long,, 
conical berry with a glazed neck. Untested, but very promising. 
Staminate. 

President Lijicoln. — Plant moderately vigorous; foliage light green;, 
truss 5 to 6 inches, strong ; berry crimson, conical ; often long, with a 
neck ; the first large berries are coxcombed and very irregular ; flesh 
firm, scarlet ; flavor of the very best ; size 3 to 6 inches ; calyx close to 
spreading. One of the best varieties for an amateur. Among them 
often, without any apparent cause, are found small bushy plants with 
smaller leaves, and berries full of "fingers and toes." These should be 
pulled out. The variety evidently contains much foreign blood, but is 
one of the best of the class. The berries almost rival the Sharpless in size, 
and are better in flavor, but the plant is not so good a grower. Specimens 
have been picked measuring over eleven inches in circumference. It 
is said to have originated with a Mr. Smith, of New York city, in 1875. 
Staminate. 

President Wilder. — In the estimation of many good judges, this is the 
most beautiful and best-flavored strawberry in existence, — an opinion in 
which I coincide. It has always done well with me, and I have seen it 
thriving in many localities. It is so fine, however, that it deserves all the 
attention that it requires. It is a hybrid of the La Constant and Hovey's 
Seedling, and unites the good qualities of both, having much the appear- 
ance of the beautiful foreign berry, and the hardy, sun-resisting foliage of 
Hovey's Seedling. It has a suggestion of the musky, Hautbois flavor, when 
fully ripe, and is of a bright scarlet color, deepening into crimson in 
maturity. Flesh quite firm, rosy white, juicy, very rich and delicious. 
The berry is diamond-shaped, obtusely conical, very regular and uniform; 
seeds yellow and near the surface. The plant is low, compact, 
rather dwarf, the young plants quite small, but the foliage endures 
the sun well, even in the far South. The plants are more productive the 
second year of bearing than in the first. Young plants often do not form 
fruit buds. Mr. Merrick states that it " originated with President 
Wilder, in 1861, and was selected as the best result obtained from 
many thousand seedlings in thirty years of continual experimenting." 
Staminate. 



Varieties of Strawberries. 



^93 



Pioneer. — Plant vigorous ; foliage light green, tall; leaf-stalk downy; 
truss 5 to 7 inches ; berry scarlet, necked, dry, sweet, perfumed ; flesh pink, 
only moderately firm; flavor of the best; calyx close to spreading; season 
early. This seems to me the best of all Mr. Durand's new varieties that I 
have seen, and it is very good indeed. The foliage dies down during the 
winter, but the root sends up a new, strong growth, which, I fear, will 
burn in the South and on light soils. Staminate. 

Prouty's Seedling. — Plant not very vigorous ; leaf-stalk very smooth; 
truss 3 to 5 inches ; berry bright scarlet, glossy, very long conical ; flesh 




Pioneer Strawberry. 



pink, firm ; flavor fair ; calyx close. Very productive, but the plant does 
not seem vigorous enough to mature the enormous quantity of fruit that 
forms. With high culture on heavy soil, I think it might be made very 
profitable. Staminate. 



294 Success zvitJi Small Fruits. 

Panic. — Mr. W. H. Coleman, of Geneva, writes me that this variety 
promises remarkably well in his region, but on my ground it burns so 
badly as to be valueless. It is a long, conical berry, very firm and of good 
flavor. Staminate. 

Red Jacket. — Early, high-flavored, with a rich subacid, suggesting the 
wild berry in taste and aroma ; of good size, round, dark crimson. Plant 
vigorous ; a promising new variety. Staminate. 

RiisselFs Advance. — A fine-flavored, early variety, but the plant 
proves not sufficiently vigorous and productive to compete with other 
early berries already described. Staminate. 

Russell's Prolific. — A fine, large berry, deservedly popular a few years 
since. It has yielded splendid fruit on my grounds, but it seems to have 
proved so uncertain over the country at large as to have passed out of 
general favor. It is rather soft for market and not high-flavored enough 
for a first-class berry. Pistillate. 

Rorneyns Seedling. — I cannot distinguish it from the Triomphe de 
Gand. Staminate. 

SJiarpless. — A very strong, upright grower, with large, crinkled 
foliage; truss 5 to 8 inches, strong branched; 6 to lo large berries often 
on each; berry carpet-bag in shape, and often very irregular and flattened, 
but growing more uniform as they diminish in size ; light red and glossy, 
5 to 7 inches ; flesh firm, light pink ; flavor fine, sweet, perfumed ; calyx 
recurving ; season medium. One of the very best if it proves sufficiently 
productive over the country at large. For illustration, see page 98. 

Mr. J. K. Sharpless kindly writes me : " I have been much interested 
in growing strawberries for the last fifteen years, and after being disap- 
pointed in many of the new and highly praised varieties, the idea occurred 
to me that a seedling originating in our own soil and climate might prove 
more hardy and long-hved. Having saved a fine berry of each of the 
following varieties, — the Wilson, Colonel Cheney, Jucunda, and Charles 
Downing, — I planted their seeds in a box in March, 1772. The box was 
kept in the house (probably by a warm south window), and in May I set 
from this box about 100 plants in the garden, giving partial shade and 
frequently watering. By fall, nearly all were fine plants. I then took them 
up and set them out in a row one foot apart, protecting them slightly 
during the winter, and the next season nearly all bore some fruit, the 
Sharpless four or five fine berries. It was the most interesting employment 
of my life to grow and watch those seedlings. Some of the others bore fine, 
large berries, but I eventually came to the conclusion that the Sharpless 
was the only one worthy of cultivation." I am inclined to think that the 



Varieties of Strawberries. 295 

Jucunda and Colonel Cheney formed the combination producing this berry. 
It is now in enormous demand, and if it gives satisfaction throughout 
the country generally, its popularity will continue. It is peculiarly adapted 
to hill culture, and the plant is so vigorous that it would develop into 
quite a bush on rich, moist land, with its runners clipped. Staminate. 

Seneca Chief. — Plant vigorous and productive; large, downy leaf; 
truss low; berry bright scarlet, glossy, occasionally a little wedge-shaped,* 
round to conical, shouldered ; flesh firm, pink ; seeds yellow and brown ; 
flavor fine, rich subacid ; season medium ; size 3 to 5 inches ; calyx 
close ; a fine berry, originated by Messrs. Hunt & Foote, Waterloo, N. Y. 
Staminate. 

Seneca Queen. — Plant vigorous, foliage dark green; leaf-stalk moder- 
ately downy ; truss 3 to 5 inches ; berry dark crimson, round ; flesh red ; 
flavor fair ; size 3 to 5 inches ; calyx close ; season medium ; productive ; 
a promising variety. Staminate. 

Springdale. — Plant low, stocky; leaf-stalk downy; leaf broad and 
smooth ; truss 3 to 4 inches ; berry bright scarlet, round, broader than 
long, 3/^ to 5 inches ; flesh light pink, juicy, rather soft ; flavor very good ; 
calyx close ; season early to medium. Originated by Amos Miller, of 
Pennsylvania. Pistillate. 

Sucker State. — Plant seems vigorous; foliage dark green ; leaf-stalk 
downy ; berry light scarlet ; flesh pink, juicy, firm. A new and 
promising variety. Staminate. 

Stirling. — Only moderately vigorous ; foliage low, light green ; leaf- 
stalk downy ; truss 3 to 5 inches, well branched ; berry crimson, ovate,, 
very uniform, somewhat necked ; moderate-sized, 2 to 3 inches ; flesh, 
pink, very firm ; flavor of the best ; calyx close to spreading ; season 
medium to late. The foliage burns so badly in most localities that this 
variety will pass out of cultivation. Pistillate. 

TrionipJie de Gand. — Plant light green; leaf-stalk and blade unu- 
sually smooth ; truss 4 to 5 inches ; berry, the average ones, round to- 
conical, large ones irregular and coxcombed ; light scarlet, glossy ; flesh 
pink, juicy, and solid; flavor of the best; calyx close; size 3^ to 5 
inches; season long; rather feeble grower, and comes slowly to maturity. 
Admirably adapted to the narrow row system, and on heavy soils can be 
kept in bearing five or six years, if the runners are cut regularly. If 
I were restricted to one strawberry on a heavy, loamy soil, the Triomphe 
would be my choice, since, on moist land with high culture, it will continue 
six weeks in bearing, giving delicious fruit. When well grown, it com- 
mands the highest price in market. It is probably the best foreign 



296 Stcccess with Small Fruits. 

variety we have, and is peculiarly adapted to forcing. It is said to be a 
Belgian variety. Staminate. The old-fashioned belief that strawberries 
thrived best on light soils caused this superb berry to be discarded ; 
but it was introduced again by Mr. Knox, who proved, by a very 
profitable experience, that heavy land is the best for many of our finest 
varieties. 

Triple Croivti. — Plant tall, slender; foliage light green; leaf-stalk 
wiry, smooth ; truss 5 to 6 inches ; berry dark crimson, conical ; when large, 
irregular, with a glazed neck ; flesh crimson, remarkably firm ; flavor rich 
and fine ; size 3 to 4 inches ; season medium ; very productive. One of the 
best, and I think the firmest strawberry in existence. I may be mistaken, 
but I think this berry will become exceedingly popular when it becomes 
better known. I am testing it on various soils. For canning and shipping 
qualities, it has no equal, and though so exceedingly firm, is still rich 
and juicy when fully ripe. Originated by Mr. Wm. Hunt, of Waterloo, 
N. Y. Staminate. 

Warren. — Described as very large, roundish, conical; very regular 
in shape and size ; color dark red, ripening evenly ; flesh firm and of 
good quality. Plant a luxuriant grower and a good bearer. New and 
untested. Originated by Mr. A. S. Webb, Bowling Green, Ky. 

Wilding. — Plant tall, vigorous; foliage dark green ; leaf-stalk downy ; 
truss 6 to 8 inches; well branched; 10 to 12 berries; ripe fruit and 
blossoms on the same stalk ; berry crimson, high-shouldered, round to 
conical; size 3 to 5 inches; flesh moderately firm, pink; flavor good. 
New and very promising. Originated by Mr. A. N. Jones, Le Roy, N. Y. 
Staminate. 

Wielandy. — Plant vigorous, with dark green, very glossy foliage; 
leaf-stalk downy ; truss low ; berry bright scarlet, round to conical ; flesh 
pink, soft ; flavor fine ; size 2 to 3 inches ; season medium. New and 
untested, but of good promise for the home garden. Staminate. 

Windsor Chief. — Said to have been originated by Mr. C. A. Gardner, 
of Eaton Co., Michigan, and to be a cross between the Champion and 
Charles Downing. The plants that I obtained from Mr. Gardner resemble 
the Champion so closely, both in foliage and fruit, that I cannot yet dis- 
tinguish between the mother and daughter. This year, I shall fruit both 
in perfection, and fear that I shall have to record a distinction without a 
difference. 

I hope I may be mistaken. All that is claimed for the Windsor 
Chief is true if it is as good as the Champion, a variety that I have ever 
found one of the most profitable on my place. Pistillate. 



Varieties of Straivberries. 297 

ALPINE STRAWBERRIES. 

Alpines, White and Red. — These are the Fragaria Vesea, the strawber- 
ries of the ancients, and well worthy of a place in our gardens to-day. As 
I have already stated, they are one of the most widely spread fruits in the 
world ; for, while they take their name from the Alps, there are few mount- 
ains, where the temperature is sufficiently cool, on which they are not 
found, either in this country or abroad. In the high latitudes, they 
descend into the fields, and grow wild everywhere. The berries are coni- 
cal, medium to small in size, and the fruit-stalks rise above the leaves. In 
flavor they are good, very delicate, but not rich. The plants are very 
hardy, and moderately productive. Grown from the seed, they reproduce 
themselves with almost unvarying similarity, but the young seedlings pro- 
duce larger berries than the older plants. The foliage of the White variety 
is of a lighter green than that of the Red, but in other respects there are 
no material differences, except in the color. 

White and Red Monthly Alpines. — Varieties similar to the above, with 
the exception that they bear continuously through the summer and fall, 
if moisture is maintained and high culture given. If much fruit is desired, 
all runners should be cut, and the ground made rich. We are often misled 
by synonyms of these old varieties, as, for instance, Des Qnatre Saisons, 
Mexican Everbearing, Gallande, etc. They are all said to be identical 
with the common monthly Alpines. 

White and Red Bnsh Alpines. — A distinct class, that produces no run- 
ners, but are propagated by dividing the roots. In other respects, the 
plant and fruit are similar to the common Alpines. No matter how small 
the division, if a little root is attached, it will grow readily. They make 
pretty and useful edgings for garden walks, and with good culture bear 
considerable fruit, especially in the cool, moist months of autumn. Because, 
throwing out no runners, they give very little trouble, and I have ever 
found them the most satisfactory of the monthly strawberries. I see no 
reason why a good demand for them, as a fancy fruit, could not be created. 
Be this as it may, there are many who are sufficiently civilized to consider 
the home market first ; and a dainty dish of strawberries on an October 
evening, and a wood-fire blazing on the hearth, form a combination that 
might reconcile misanthropy to the "ills of life." Mr. Downing states that 
the Bush Alpines were first brought to this country by the late Andrew 
Parmentier, of Brooklyn. 

Wood Straivberries, White and Red. — These are the English phases of 
the Alpine, or F. Vesca species. Their fruit is not so conical as the Alpine 
38 



298 Success with Small Fi^uits. 

of the Continent, or our own land, but is "roundish ovate." They are said 
to be rather more productive, but I doubt whether they differ materially 
from the other Alpines, except in form. They are the strawberries that 
our British forefathers ate, and are the same that the Bishop of Ely 
brought to the bloody Protector from his " gardayne in Holberne." 

Montreuil. — Said to be an improved variety of the Alpines. 

Green Alpine (Green Pine or Wood, Fraisier Vert). — " This variety was, 
by some, supposed to be a distinct species, but the appearance of the 
plant and fruit shows it to be a true Alpine. Berry small, roundish, 
depressed, greenish brown ; flesh green, with a somewhat musky flavor." 
(Fuller.) Mr. Downing says the berry is tinged with reddish brown on 
the sunny side at maturity, and that it has a peculiar, rich, pine-apple 
flavor. 

Under the head of Alpines, one finds in the catalogues a bewildering 
array of names, especially in those printed abroad ; but I am quite well 
satisfied that if all these named varieties were placed in a trial-bed, and 
treated precisely alike, the differences between them, in most instances, 
would be found slight indeed, too slight to warrant a name and separate 
existence. 



HAUTBOIS STRAWBERRIES (FRAGARIA ELATIOR). 

As far as I can learn, this class was more raised in former years than 
at present, both here and abroad. At any rate, the musky flavor of the 
"Hoboys" (as the term was often spelled in rural regions) has not won 
favor, and I rarely meet with them in cultivation. They are well worth 
a little space in the garden, however, and are well suited to some tastes. 

Belle de Bordelaise is said to be the best variety. The berry is 
described by Mr. Fuller, as " roundish oval, dark, brownish purple ; flesh 
white, juicy, sweet, with a strong musky flavor." 

Common Hmctbois. — Fruit medium in size, reddish green, musky. 
The fruit- stalks rise above the leaves — therefore the term Hautbois, or 
high wood. Not worthy of cultivation. 

Prolific Hantbois — (Double Bearing, and having many other syno- 
nyms). — Mr. Downing speaks highly of this variety, saying that it is 
distinguished by its " strong habit, and very large and usually perfect 
flowers borne high above the leaves. The fruit is very large and 
f w fine ; dark colored, with a peculiarly rich, slightly musky flavor." 
'^' Productive. 



Varieties of Strawberries. 299 

Royal Haiitbois. — Said to be one of the largest, most vigorous, and 
productive of this class. 

Mr. Merrick writes that the Hautbois strawberries find few admirers in 
the vicinity of Boston, and seem equally neglected abroad. 

I am gathering these and the Alpines into trial-beds, and thus hope 
to learn more accurately their differences, characteristics and comparative 
values. 

Chili strawberries are now rarely met with in cultivation. Mr. Merrick 
writes of them : "Although some of them are extolled for amateur culture, 
they are of little value. They are large, coarse, very apt to be hollow, 
with soft, poor-flavored flesh. They have been so thoroughly intermingled 
with other species that it is difficult to say of certain named kinds that 
they are or are not partly Chilis." True Chili, Wilmot's Superb, and 
the Yellow Chili are named as the best of the class. 

There are very many other named strawberries that I might describe, 
and a few of them may become popular. Some that I have named are 
scarcely worth the space, and will soon be forgotten. In my next revision, 
I expect to drop not a few of them. It should be our constant aim to 
shorten our catalogues of fruits rather than lengthen them to the bewilder- 
ment and loss of all save the plant grower. The Duchess, for instance, is 
a first-class early berry. All others having the same general character- 
istics and adapted to the same soils, but which are inferior to it, should 
be discarded. What is the use of raising second, third and fourth rate 
berries of the same class ? Where distinctions are so slight as to puzzle 
an expert they should be ignored, and the best variety of the class 
preserved. 

I refer those readers who would like to see a list of almost every 
strawberry named in modern times, native and foreign, to Mr. J. M. 
Merrick's work, "The Strawberry and its Culture." 






CHAPTER XXXIV. 



VARIETIES OF OTHER SMALL FRUITS. 



I HAVE already written so fully of the leading and profitable varieties 
of raspberries, blackberries, currants and gooseberries that little more 
remains to be said ; since, for reasons previously given, I do not care to 
go into long descriptions of obsolete varieties, nor of those so new and 
untested as to be unknown quantities in value. I am putting everything 
thought worthy of test in trial-beds, and hope eventually to write 
accurately concerning them. 



RASPBERRIES. 
Rtibits IdcBus and Riibtis Strigosiis. 

Arnold's Orange. — Canes strong, branching, yellowish brown, almost 
smooth, and producing but few suckers. Fruit large, somewhat shorter 
than Brinkle's Orange, and of a darker orange color ; rich in flavor. 
Originated with Mr. Charles Arnold, Paris, Ontario, C. W. 

Antzverp (English). — See page 173. 

Antwerp (Hudson River). — See pages 173-180. 

Antzverp (Yellow — White Antwerp). — A tender variety that needs 
winter protection, good culture and vigorous pruning ; otherwise, the 



Varieties of other Small Fruits. 301 

berries are imperfect and crumble badly in picking. The fruit is exceed- 
ingly delicate and soft, and must be picked as soon as ripe or it cannot 
be handled. It is much surpassed by Brinkle's Orange. The canes are 
vigorous and the variety is easily grown. 

Brinkle's Orange. — For description and illustration, see pages 176 and 
191. 

Belle ele Fontenay. — Illustration and description on page 181. 

Brandyzvine. — See pages 182, 183. 

Belle de Palnan. — A French variety, that thrives in some localities. 
Canes are strong, vigorous, upright, covered with short, purplish 
spines, which are more numerous near the ground ; berry large, obtuse 
conical, bright crimson ; firm for so juicy and fine-flavored a berry ; grains 
large. The berries were often imperfect on my place. 

Cataivissa. — See page 190. This variety is well spoken of by some 
good authorities. The fact that it bears in autumn should give it some 
consideration. 

Clarke. — See page 194. 

Caroline. — See page 194. 

Cnthbert. — See pages 194—198. 

Franeonia. — See page 180. 

Fastollf. — "An English variety of high reputation. It derived its name 
from having originated near the ruins of an old castle so called, in Great 
Yarmouth. Canes strong, rather erect, branching ; light yellowish brown, 
with few strong bristles ; fruit very large, obtuse or roundish conical, 
bright purplish red, rich and highly flavored, slightly adhering to the 
germ in picking." (Downing.) 

Freneh (Vice-President French). — Originated with Dr. Brinkle. 
" Canes strong, upright, spines short and stout ; fruit medium to large, 
roundish, rich, bright crimson, large grains, sweet and very good." 
(Barry.) It is foreign in its parentage, and uncertain in many localities. 

Herstine. — See pages 192, 193. 

Hornet. — " Raised by Souchet, near Paris. Very productive. Canes 
very strong, vigorous, upright spines, purplish, rather stout, and numerous 
at the base ; fruit very large, conical, often irregular, grains large, quite 
hairy, compact, crimson ; flesh rather firm, juicy, sweet and good, sepa- 
rates freely." (Downing.) This variety appears to vary greatly with 
locality. 

Kirtland (Cincinnati Red). — One of the native varieties once grown 
largely, but now superseded. Fruit medium in size, obtuse, conical, soft, 
and not very high-flavored. 



302 . Sziccess with Small Fruits. 

Knevctf s Giant. — -Berry large, round, light crimson, adheres too firmly 
to the core, and often crumbles in picking, but is juicy and good. The 
canes are very strong and productive ; spines purplish, short, scattering. 
An English variety. 

Mej'veille dc Qiiatre Saisons. — A French variety. This and the Belle 
de Fontenay are almost as hardy as any of our native kinds, and thus they 
form exceptions to the foreign sorts, which are usually tender. Good 
results might be secured by crossing them with our best native kinds. The 
canes of this variety must be cut to the ground in spring if much autumn 
fruit is desired. It is not equal to the Belle de Fontenay, to which class 
it belongs. 

Naotni. — Identical with Franconia. 

Northitmberla7id Fillbasket. — An old-fashioned English variety, some- 
times found in the garden of an amateur. 

Pride of the Hitdson. — Seepages 162, 176, 192. 

Pearl, Bristol, Thzvack. — Native varieties that resemble the Brandy- 
wine, but are not equal to it in most localities. They are passing out of 
cultivation. 

Reliance. — A seedling of the Philadelphia, but judging from one 
year's test, much superior to it, and worthy of cultivation in those 
regions where the finer varieties cannot thrive. It is hardy, and will do 
well on light soils. 

Saunders. — See page 192. 



Rzibus Occidcntalis. 

For descriptions of Davison's Thorn less, Doolittle, or American Im- 
proved, Mammoth Cluster, and Gregg, see chapter xxii. 

American Black. — Common black-cap raspberry, found wild through- 
out the United States. Too well known to need description. 

Amcj'icaji White-cap (Yellow-cap, Golden-cap). — "Also scattered 
widely throughout the country, but not common. Those who discover it 
often imagine that they have found something new and rare. Berries 
slightly oval, grains larger than those of the black-cap, yellow, with a white 
bloom. The canes are light yellow, strong, stocky, with but iew spines. 
Propagated from the tips. It might become the parent of very fine 
varieties." (Fuller.) 



Varieties of other Small Fruits. 303 

Miami Black-cap. — A vigorous, productive variety, found growing 
near the Miami River, in Ohio. The fruit approaches a brownish red in 
color, and is not equal to the Mammoth Ckister in value. 

PhiladclpJiia. — See page 190. 

Seneca Black-cap. — Raised by Mr. Dell, of Seneca Co., N. Y. The 
fruit is between the Doolittle and Mammoth Cluster in size, and is later 
than the former ; not so black, having a shade of purple, and is juicy, 
sweet and good. 

Lunis Everbearing and Ohio Everbearing Black Raspberries. — Varie- 
ties that resemble each other. If a good autumn crop is desired, cut away 
the canes in the spring, so as to secure a strong early growth of new 
wood, on which the fruit is to be borne. 

Golden Thornless. — A large variety of the American White-cap, intro- 
duced by Purdy & Johnson, Palmyra, N. Y. 

Florence. — A variety resembling the above. 

Ganargua and New Rochelle. — See page 194. 



BLACKBERRIES. 

In chapter xxiv. I have described those varieties that have proved 
worthy of general cultivation. The Dorchester winter-killed so badly on 
my place, and the fruit was so inferior to that of the Kittatinny in size, 
that" I discarded it. It is good in flavor. The Missouri Mammoth is ten- 
der, and often not productive. There are new varieties that promise well,, 
as Taylor's Prolific, Ancient Briton, Knox, Warren, Wachusett Thorn- 
less, Cro' Nest and several others. I am testing them, and do not care to 
express any opinion as yet, or write descriptions that would probably need 
considerable revision within six months. 



CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES, 

In chapters xxvi. and xxvii. may be found a description of those dis- 
tinct varieties that are of chief value in this country. I find no good 
reason why I should fill pages with descriptions of varieties that are rarely 
cultivated, and which might well give place to better kinds. Eventually, 
I shall give the results gathered from my trial-beds, in which I am placing 
all the new and old varieties said to be worthy of cultivation. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



CLOSING WORDS. 



OUR ramble among the small fruits is over. To such readers as have 
not grown weary and left my company long since, I will say but few 
words in parting. 

In the preceding pages, I have tried to take from our practical and 
often laborious calling its dull, commonplace and prosaic aspects. It 
should be our constant aim to lift life above mere plodding drudgery. 
It is our great good fortune to co-work with Nature, and usually among her 
loveliest scenes. The artist, Mr. Gibson, has suggested the true character 
of our calling by combining moonlight in the Highlands with the 
gathering up of the crates for market. I should feel sorry for the 
man who saw only the crates and thought solely of the market. 
Would it not be better to "look up to the hills" occasionally, from 
whence might come " help " toward a truer, larger manhood, and then, 
instead of going home to the heavy, indigestible supper too often spread 
for those who are weary and feverish from the long, hot day, would 
it not be better to gather some sprays of the fruit portrayed, that 
resembles moonlight in beauty and color, but whose mild subacid is 
just what the material man requires in midsummer sultriness ? The 
horticulturist may thrive if he will, in body and soul, for Nature, at 
each season, furnishes just such supplies as are best adapted to his 



Closing Words. 



30s 




Taking the Crates to the Evening Boat. 



White Dutch Currant. 



need. She will develop every good quality he possesses, especially 
his patience. 

As we have passed from one fruit to another, I have expressed my 
own views frankly ; at the same time, I think the reader will remember 
39 



3o6 



Success with Small Fruits. 



that I have taken no little pains to give the opinions of others. Dog- 
matism in pomology is as objectionable as in theology. I shall be glad 
to have my errors pointed out, and will hasten to correct them. 




.--y'f 




" <" -^^^^t^^'^M; . . 



As a part of this book appeared as a serial in Scribner's Magazi)ie, 
I was encouraged by words of approval from many of the best horti- 
cultural authorities. I shall not deny that I was very glad to receive 
such favorable opinions, for I had much and just doubt of my ability to 



Closing Words. 307 

satisfy those who have made these sulpjects a Hfe-long study, and to 
whom, in fact, I am largely indebted for the little I do know. Still 
more am I pleased by assurances that I have turned the thoughts of 
many toward the garden — a place that is naturally, and, I think, cor- 
rectly, associated with man's primal and happiest condition. We must 
recognize, however, the sad change in the gardening as well as gardeners 
of our degenerate world. In worm and insect, blight and mildew, in heat, 
frost, drought and storm, in weeds so innumerable that we are tempted 
to believe that Nature has a leaning toward total depravity, we have 
much to contend with ; and in the ignorant, careless, and often dis- 
honest laborer, who slashes away at random, we find our chief obstacle to 
success. In spite of all these drawbacks, the work of the garden is the 
play and pleasure that never palls, and which the oldest and wisest never 
outgrow. 

I have delayed my departure too long, and, since I cannot place a 
basket of President Wilder Strawberries on the tables of my readers, 
I will leave with them the best possible substitute, the exquisite poem 
of H. H. : 



"MY STRAWBERRY. 

" O MARVEL, fruit of fruits, I pause 
To reckon thee. I ask what cause 
Set free so much of red from heats 
At core of earth, and mixed such sweets 
With sour and spice;* what was that strength 
Which, out of darkness, length by length, 
Spun all thy shining threads of vine, 
Netting the fields in bond as thine; 
I see thy tendrils drink by sips 
From grass and clover's smiling lips ; 
I hear thy roots dig down for wells, 
Tapping the meadow's hidden cells ; 
Whole generations of green things, 
Descended from long lines of springs, 
I see make room for thee to bide, 
A quiet comrade by their side; 



3o8 Success with Small Fruits. 

I see the creeping peoples go 
Mysterious journeys to and fro; 
Treading to right and left of thee, 
Doing thee homage wonderingly. 
I see the wild bees as they fare 
Thy cups of honey drink, but spare ; 
I mark thee bathe, and bathe again, 
In sweet, uncalendared spring rain. 
I watch how all May has of sun, 
Makes haste to have thy ripeness done, 
While all her nights let dews escape 
To set and cool thy perfect shape. 
Ah, fruit of fruits, no more I pause 
To dream and seek thy hidden laws! 
I stretch my hand, and dare to taste 
In instant of delicious waste 
On single feast, all things that went 
To make the empire thou has spent." 



INDEX. 



Aphis, 234. 

Alpi;ie Strawberry, 35, 297, 298. 

Alpine Strawberry, White and Red, 103, 297. 

Alpine, Green, 298. 



B. 



Baskets, choice in, 250. 

Baskets cheap enough to be given away, 251. 

Belle de Fontenay Raspberry, 180. 

Blackberry, New Rochelle, 200. 

Blackberry, Kittatinny, 202. 

Blackberry, Wilson's Early, 203. 

Blackberry, Snyder, 203. 

Blackberries, species of, 199. 

Blackberries, varieties of, 200, 303. 

Blackberries, foreign, 200. 

Blackberries, wild, 200. 

Blackberries, culture, etc., 205. 

Blackberries, the soil suited to, 205. 

Blackberries, planting, 205. 

Blackberries, pruning, 206. 

Blackberries, winter protection, 206. 

Blackberries, propagation, culture, etc., 205. 

Blackberries, curl-leaf, 240. 

Blackberries, rust, 241. 

Blackberries, profits on, 31. 

Bone Meal, 80, 81. 

Book Farming, 77. 

Borers, 241. 

Brandy wine Raspberry, 182. 

Brinkle's Orange Raspberry, 191. 

Bryant, Hon. Wm. Cullen. Editorial on 
strawberries, 45. 

Buckwheat. Good for subduing and enrich- 
ing land, 58, 72. 



California culture of small fruits, 261-263. 

Callus, 218. 

Canada, why adapted to small fruit culture, 98. 

Capital required, 30. 

Caroline Raspberry, 194. 

Catalogues of varieties soon obsolete, 93, 94. 

Champion Strawberry, 100. 

Charles Downing Strawberry, 103. 

Charleston, great strawberry center, 121. 

Chili Strawberries, 40, 299. 

Clarke Raspberry, 194. 

Climate, influence of, on fruits, 16, 50. 

Clay soil, treatment of, 72. 

Closing words, 304. 

Clover as a green crop, 73, 80. 

Crates, when first used, 248. 

Crescent Seedling Strawberry, 100. 

Curl-leaf in the Blackberry, 240. 

Curl-leaf in the Raspberry, 240. 

Currant borers, 245. 

Currant, Black Naples, 220. 

Currant, Lee's Prolific, 220. 

Currant, Red Dutch, 220. 

Currant, White Dutch, 221. 

Currant, White Grape, 222. 

Currant, Cherry, 223. 

Currant, Versailles, 223. 

Currant, Victoria, 224. 

Currant, worm, 242. 

Currant, saw fly, 242. 

Currants, best methods of shipping, 253. 

Currants, cuttings, 217. 

Currants, species of, 209. 

Currants, history of, 209. 

Currants, best soil for, 210. 

Currants, their native haunts, 210. 

Currants, their chief requirements, 210. 



3IO 



Success with Small Fruits. 



Currants will not thrive in the South, 211. 
Currants, cultivation, planting and pruning, 

211-216. 
Currants in tree and bush form, 214. 
Currants, mulching, 215. 
Currants, propagation, 217. 
Currants, black, 219. 
Currants, profits in growing, 32. 
Cuthbert Raspberry, 194, 198. 



D. 

Davidson's Thornless Raspberry, li 
Diseases of Small Fruits, 232. 
Doolittle Raspberry, 188. 
Dorchester Blackberry, 303. 
Drainage, uses of, 60. 
Drainage, where essential, 61. 
Drains, best kind, 61. 
Drains, construction of, 61, 62. 
Drains, open, 62. 
Drains, tile, 61. 
Drains, box, 65. 
Duchess Strawberry, 113. 



E. 

Experiences from widely separated localities, 

262. 
Experience. Nothing can take its place. 29. 

F. 

Fall Plowing, 73. 

Feebleness resulting from over-stimulation, 

234- 

Feebleness resulting from starvation and neg- 
lect, 234. 

Fertilizers, best for light land, 74. 

Fertilizers, best for heavy land, 72. 

Fertilizers, surface application of, 74. 

Fertilizers, commercial, 75. 

Fertilizers, experience with commercial, 81. 

Fertilizers, special, 77, 83, 133. 

Flea beetle, 239. 

Floods, providing against, 69. 

Florida entering largely into strawberry cult- 
ure, 122. 

Forcing under glass, 146. 

Fragaria Vesca, 35. 

Foliage burning or sun-scalding, 234. 

Fragaria Virginiana, 39. 

Fragaria Illinoensis, 40. 

Fragaria Indica, 40. 

Fragaria Chilensis, 40. 

Franconia Raspberry, 180. 

Fruit Farm — importance of location, 28, 49. 

Fruit growing as a business, 27. 



G, 

Ganargua, 194. 

Gooseberry, Downing, 229. 

Gooseberry, Houghton, 229. 

Gooseberry, Smith's Improved, 230. 

Gooseberry, Mountain Seedling, 230. 

Gooseberry, Cluster, 230. 

Gooseberries, foreign species, 226. 

Gooseberries, English ; their culture in Eng- 
land, 227. 

Gooseberries, mildew, 227. 

Gooseberries, foreign varieties, 228. 

Gooseberries, seedlings of foreign varieties, 228. 

Gooseberries, native species, 228. 

Gooseberries, native varieties, 229. 

Gooseberries, wild, 230. 

Gooseberries, native species, capable of great 
improvement, 231. 

Green crops, plowed under, 58, 72. 

Gregg, 189. 

H. 

Hautbois Strawberry, 38, 298, 299. 

Hellebore, white, 243-245. 

Heredity in Strawberries, 151. 

Herstine, 192. 

Highland Hardy, 185. 

Hovey's Seedling Strawberry, 40. 

Hudson River Antwerp, 179. 

Hybridizing, 150 ; Mr. Seth Boyden's method, 

154; Mr. E. W. Durand's method, 155. 
Hybrids, how to learn their origin, 185. 



Irrigation, 255-261. 
Irrigation in California, 261, 262. 
Irrigation in Texas, 263, 264. 
Insect enemies of small fruits, 232. 
Insecticides, 238-246. 



Jucunda Strawberry, 42, 66. 

K. 

Kentucky Strawberry, 103. 
Kittatinny Blackberry, 202, 

L. 

Labor and laborers, 271, 272. 

Laborers, 4. 

Land, unsubdued, 252. 

Land, clearing, 54, 55. 

Land, wet, 61. 

Land, heavy, 66-72. 



I. 



Index. 



311 



Layer plants, 91, 119. 

Lime, 72, 80. 

Location, influence on Strawberries, 



M. 

Market facilities, 49. 

Marlboro', great raspberry center, 175. 

Mammoth cluster, 189. 

Manure, stable, 72, 80, 81. 

Marketing small fruits, 247. 

Marketing small fruits in the olden time, 247. 

Moisture, need of, 51, 117. 

Monarch of the West Strawberry, 42. 

Mowing Strawberries, 118. 

Mildew, best preventive of, 227. 

Mixing of Strawberries, 157. 

Mulching, 117, 168. 



Neunan's Prolific Strawberry, I02. 
New varieties, need of a patent on, 152. 
New varieties, why often sent out untested, 152. 
New Rochelle Raspberry, 194. 
New Rochelle Blackberry, 200. 
Norfolk, great strawberry center, 121. 



P. 

Packages, the best for small fruits, 250. 
Picking small fruits, 247. 
Pistillate flower, 93. 
Pistillate varieties, 156. 

Plants, number per acre. Rule for ascertain- 
ing, 275. 
Plants, obtaining, 84. 
Plants, mixed, 85. 
Plants, digging, 86. 
Plants, packing, 86. 
Plants, mailing, 86. 
Plants, pot-grown, 89. 
Plants, layer, 91. 
Plants, purity of stock, 85. 
Plants, firming ground about, 106. 
Plants, watering, 107. 
Plants, shading, 107. 
Poisons, caution in the use of, 246. 
Pollen, 93. 
Potash, 81. 

Pot-grown plants, 89, 108. 
Pot-grown plants, cost of, 90. 
Pot-grown plants, how grown, 89. 
President Wilder Strawberry, 42, 103. 
Pride of the Hudson Raspberry, 162. 
Profit en small fruits, 16, 26, 30-32, 
Pruning-shears, 208. 



Raspberry, Doolittle or American Improved, 

188. 
Raspberry, Mammoth Cluster or McCormick, 

189. 
Raspberry, Gregg, 189. 
Raspberry, Catawissa, 190. 
Raspberry, Philadelphia, 190. 
Raspberry, Pride of the Hudson, 162, 192. 
Raspberry suckers, 160, 165. 
Raspberry, Red Antwerp of England, 1 73. 
Raspberry, Hudson River Antwerp, 179. 
Raspberry, Fi-anconia, 180. 
Raspberry, Belle de Fontenay, 180. 
Raspberry, Brandywine, 182. 
Raspberry, Turner, 182. 
Raspberry, Davidson's Thornless, 188. 
Raspberry, Highland Hardy, 185. 
Raspberry rust, 241. 
Raspberry, Brinkle's Orange, 191. 
Raspberry, Herstine, 192. 
Raspberry, Saunders, 193. 
Raspberry, Clarke, 194. 
Raspberry, New Rochelle, 194. 
Raspberry, Caroline, 194. 
Raspberry, Ganargua, 194. 
Raspberry, Reliance, 194. 
Raspberry, Cuthbert, 194-198. 
Raspberries, species of, 158. 
Raspberries, history of, 158. 
Raspberries, varieties of, 173, 198, 300-303. 
Raspberries, propagation of, 160. 
Raspberries, originating new varieties, 162. 
Raspberries, new seedlings very uncertain in 

their future, 162. 
Raspberries, choice of land for, 163. 
Raspberries, preparing ground for, 164. 
Raspberries, planting, 164. 
Raspberries, when to plant, 164. 
Raspberries, winter protection for newly 

planted, 165. 
Raspberries, cultivation of, 165. 
Raspberries, autumn top-dressing, 165. 
Raspberries, pruning, summer and fall, 167. 
Raspberries, summer pinching, 168. 
Raspberries, cutting back makes large fruit, 

168. 
Raspberries, mulching, 168. 
Raspberries, staking, 169. 
Raspberries, winter protection, 170. 
Raspberries, tying, 169. 
Raspberries, taking up plants, 172. 
Raspberries, storing plants, 172. 
Raspberries, foreign and native species, 173. 
Raspberries, black-cap, their propagation and 

cultivation, 186-188. 
Raspberries, black-cap, planting, 188. 



312 



Success zvith Small Fruits. 



Raspberries, black-cap tips, layering, i86. 
Raspberries, Purple Cane family, 190. 
Raspberries of the future, 191. 
Raspberries, root cuttings, 161. 
Raspberries, root cuttings, forcing under glass, 

161. 
Raspberries, culture in Marlboro', origin of, 

175- 
Raspberries, traffic on the Hudson, 177. 
Raspberries, hybrids, how to learn their origin, 

1^5. 
Raspberries, Rubus Strigosus species, its chief 

value, 185. 
Raspberries, Rubus Occidentalis, black-cap 

and purple cane class, 186. 
Raspberries, curl-leaf in, 240. 
Raspberries, borers and gall insects, 241. 
Raspberries, perfectly hardy, 196. 
Raspberries, foliage of, 196. 
Raspberries, hardiness usually settled in 

August, 196. 
Raspberries, best packages for, 253. 
Raspberries, profits on, 31. 
Remedies for diseases and insect enemies of 

small fruits, 230-246. 
Root cuttings, 161. 
Roots, grubbing out, 55. 
Roots, handling, 86. 

Roots, keep from frost, wind and heat, 86. 
Roots, shortening strawberry, 107. 
Roots, treatment when black and moldy, 107. 
Rules and maxims, 271-276. 
Runners, improvement caused by cutting, ii_i. 

132. 
Rust, 241. 

Rubus Strigosus, 185. 
Rubus Occidentalis, 186, 302. 



Sandy soil, treatment of, 74. 

Saunders Raspberry, 193. 

Saw fly, 238. 

Seedlings, proper treatment of them, 156. 

Seedlings, but few worthy of preservation, 155. 

Seth Boyden Strawberry, 102. 

Sharpless Strawberry, 97. 

Small Fruits, neglect of, 18. 

Small Fruits, profits on, 30-32, 102. 

Small Fruits, diseases and insect enemies of, 

232. 
Small Fruits, picking and marketing, 247. 
Small Fruits in New Jersey, 266-268. 
Small Fruits in the far North, 268-270. 
Small Fruits, the present enormous traffic in, 

249. 
Small Fruits in California, 261-263. 
Small Fruits in the South, 263-266. 
Small Fruits, culture simple, 21. 



Small Fruits, their value as food, 21. 

Small Fruits, their value as gifts, 22. 

Small Fruits, their value in charity, 22. 

Small Fruits, their moral value and power, 23. 

Small Fruits, their value in our home life, 24. 

Small Fruits, sources of varied pleasure and 
interest, 25. 

Small Fruit farming, its early beginnings, 26. 

Small Fruit farming, its present large propor- 
tions, 27. 

Small Fruit farming, its requirements as a call- 
ing, 28. 

Small Fruit farming, capital needed, 30. 

Snow, best winter protection, 99. 

Snyder Blackberry, 203. 

Sod land, 57. 

Soil, influence of on strawberries, 48. 

Soil, the best for strawberries, 48. 

Soils, advantages of a variety, 49. 

Soils, preparing and enriching, 51. 

Soils, preparation by drainage, 60. 

Soils, wet, 61. 

Soils, unfavorable, 71. 

Soils, clay, treatment of, 72. 

Soils, sandy, treatment of, 74. 

Soils, gravelly, treatment of, 75. 

Soils, peat, treatment of, 75. 

Soils, when fit for planting, 107. 

Southern small fruit culture, 263, 266. 

Southern strawberry culture, 121. 

Staminate varieties, 93. 

Steamer loading and unloading, 145. 

Storm, November, 69. 

Stock, the best is the cheapest, 84, 85. 

Stock, quality of, 85. 

Stock, improving, 86. 

Stream, mountain, 68. 

Strawberry, origin of name, 34. 

Strawberry, seeds and pulp, 34. 

Strawberry, iVlpine, 35. 

Strawberries, white and red, 103. 
Strawberries of the ancients, 35. 
Strawberry, history of the, 35-43. 
Strawberry, Wood, 36. 
Strawberry, Hautbois, 38, 298. 
Strawberry, first named variety, 39. 
Strawberry, Virginian {F. Virginiana), 39. 
Strawberry, Indian (F. Indica), 40. 
Strawberry, Chili (F. Chilensis), 40, 299. 
Strawberry, President Wilder, 42, 103. 
Strawberry, Wilson's Albany, 40, 45, 98. 
Strawberry, Hovey's Seedling, 40. 
Strawberry, Triomphe de Gand, 42. 
Strawberry, Jucunda, 42, 66. 
Strawberry, Monarch of the West, 42, 103. 
Strawberry of memory, 47. 
Strawberry blossoms, fertilizing of, 93. 
Strawberry blossoms, varieties of, 93. 



i 



Index. 



Strawberry, Sharpless Seedling, 97. 

Strawberry, Crescent Seedling, 100. 

Strawberry, Champion, 100. 

Strawberry, Windsor Chief, loi. 

Strawberry, Neunan's Prolific, 102. 

Strawberry, Seth Boyden, 102. 

Strawberry, Charles Downing, 103. 

Strawberry, Kentucky Seedling, 103. 

Strawberry, the most beautiful and delicious, 
104. 

Strawberry, Duchess, 113. 

Strawberry, its culture in the South, 121. 

Strawberry farm, largest in the world, descrip- 
tion of, 122-145. 

Strawberry, qualities essential to a first class, 
151- 

Strawberry worm, 238. 

Strawberry plants, setting out, 105, 106. 

Strawberry plants, number set per day, 106. 

Strawberry plants, proper distance between, 108. 

Strawberry plants, growing for market, 119. 

Strawberries, first real improvement in, 40. 

Strawberries, the favorite species abroad, 42. 

Strawberries, cut the blossoms from spring set 
plants, 114. 

Strawberries, of commerce, 44-46. 

.Strawberries, of the garden, 44. 

Strawberries, chief need of, 51. 

Strawberries, plant and fruit, analysis of, 79. 

Strawberries, blossom, construction of, 93. 

Strawberries, showy, for market, 102. 

Strawberries, the five great species of, 34-43. 

Strawberries vary with soil and location, 48. 

Strawberries, best fertilizers for, 79, 83. 

Strawberries, when to plant, 89. 

Strawberries, summer and autumn planting, 89. 

Strawberries, planting late in fall, 91. 

Strawberries, winter protection, 91. 

Strawberries, varieties, 93-104. 

Strawberries, new varieties, how produced, 94. 

Strawberries, new varieties ; why second rate 
varieties are sent out, 94. 

Strawberries, trial beds of, 94. 

Strawberries, trial beds, value of, 96. 

Strawberries, standard, 96. 

Strawberries, varieties that are adapted to dif- 
ferent soils and localities, 97. 
Strawberries, market varieties, 98. 
Strawberries, extraordinary yield, 102. 
Strawberries, the right and wrong methods of 

planting, 105. 
Strawberries, cultivation, 109. 
Strawberries, matted bed system of culture, 109. 
Strawberries, renewal system, no. 
Strawberries, hill system, in. 
Strawberries, narrow row system, 1 12-133. 
Strawberries, picking, 139; proper methods 
of, 252. 

40 



Strawberries, forcing under glass, 146. 

Strawberries, vs^hen first grown under glass, 149. 

Strawberries, originating new varieties, 150. 

Strawberries, mixing, 157. 

Strawberries, how first sold in New York, 247, 

Strawberries, repay high culture, 102. 

Strawberries, winter protection, 115. 

Strawberries, spring cultivation, 116, 132. 

Strawberries, mulching, 117. 

Strawberries, prize, how raised, 118. 

Strawberries, insufficient watering is injurious, 
118. 

Strawberries, mowing, 118. 

Strawberries, foliage burning, 118. 

Strawberries, house for forcing, 149. 

Strawberries, seedlings, 156. 

Strawberries, pistillate varieties, 156. 

Strawberries, all but the best should be dis- 
carded, 299. 

Strawberries, affected by soil and climate, 16. 

Strawberries, culture in California, 261, 263. 

Stumps, extracting, 55. 

Success, one of the chief conditions of, 78. 

Suckers, 160, 165. 



Thirds, Marlboro', 231. 

Tickets, 139. 

Tobacco as an insecticide, 244. 

Tools of a small fruit farm, 32. 

Top-dressing, and when to apply, 115, 165. 

Trenching, 53. 

Trial-beds, 94. 

Triomphe de Gand Strawberry, 42. 

Triple Crown, 296. 

Turner Raspberry, 182. . 



V. 

Varieties, originating new, 150-156. 
Vigilance, need of constant, 85. 



W. 

Watering strawberry plants, 107. 

Weeds, best way of fighting, 166. 

Weeding, best tool for, 112. 

White Grub, 58, 113, 235-238. 

Wood ashes, 80. 

Wood Strawberry, 36, 297. 

Wild Strawberry, 47. 

Wilson's Albany Strawberry, 40, 45, 

Wilson's Early Blackberry, 203. 

Windsor Chief Strawberry, loi. 

Winter protection, 1 15. 



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